Scorecard Volume 57, No. 5 September/October 2025

Volume 57, No. 5

The

President’s Message

By Jack LaVigne

President District 16

Longest Day

The Longest Day is the ACBL’s premier charitable event, uniting the bridge community each year in support of the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a powerful example of bridge serving a greater purpose –combining a love for the game with a commitment to making a difference in the lives of others.

Many District 16 clubs participated by hosting special fundraising games and events. These included selling raffle tickets for chances to win free plays as well as auctions where players could bid for the opportunity to partner with some of the unit’s top players. Imagine donating to the Alzheimer’s Association and getting to play with one of the better players in your unit – now that’s a win-win.

Philadelphia NABC

The Summer National is over, and many District 16 players returned home with impressive masterpoint totals. For a detailed summary, see Scott Nason’s report later in this issue.

The top masterpoint winner from District 16 was Shawn Quinn (Houston). I had the opportunity to speak with Shawn and congratulate her on winning her 26th National title, playing with her longtime friend, Pam Wittes (Venice, California).

Shawn shared a short story from the event. After two strong sessions, she accidentally took her morning

2025

medication Monday evening and got very little sleep. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to affect her play. In the third session, she and Pam posted a spectacular 68% game, followed by an equally impressive 65.6% in the fourth and final session.

Shawn Quinn District 16

Top Masterpoint winner Philadelphia NABC

Their final score of 919.05 was 118.42 matchpoints ahead of the second-place finishers (800.63). Since a top board was worth 25 matchpoints, this meant they finished nearly 4¾ boards ahead of second place – a truly remarkable performance.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

– Winston Churchill

ACBL District 16

Upcoming D16 Tournaments

August 27-September 1 Allen Dallas Labor Day Regional

September 4-6 Mexico City Seccional de Verano

September 4-7 New Braunfels Sectional

September 11-14 Houston BCOH 499er Sectional

September 15-21 D16 STaC (Fundraiser for NABC)

September 25-28 Austin Fall Sectional

October 2-4 Denton Local Sectional

October 4-5 Austin 0-200 Sectional

October 6-12 Ajijic Tequila Regional

October 9-11 Beaumont Sabine Neches Local Sectional

October 10-11 San Antonio I/N 2 Day Sectional

October 15-18 San Antonio Diane Olson Election Sectional

October 16-18 Fort Western Sectional

October 17-19 Houston Fall Sectional & Non-Life Master Regional October 20-26 D16 Royal STaC

October 29-November 1 Dallas Fall Sectional

November 3-9 D16 STaC

November

November

President Jack LaVigne

District 16 Officers

First Vice President Second Vice President

Jerry Harrington Kristen Onsgard

Executive Secretary Executive Treasurer

BJ Sanders

James Southerland

Immediate Past President Betty Starzec

Committee Chairs

Awards Charity

Jerry Harrington Karen Nussbaum

Membership Teacher of the Year

Lauri Laufman Sam Khayatt

Tournament Publications

Tomi Storey TBD Coordinators

Education Grand National Teams

Patricia Herrera

Scott Nason

Marketing/Publicity Intermediate/Newcomer

Rachell Jackson

Sam Khayatt

STaC North America Pairs

Daniel Jackson

Larry Davis

Financial Verifier Recorder

Jim Woodward

Larry Davis

NABC Correspondent Tournament / Sanction

Scott Nason Applications

Scott Humphrey Lecture Series

James Moody, Dolores Aquino (I/N) and

Patricia Herrera (Spanish)

Webmaster

TBD

District 16

Scorecard Editor

Evvie Gilbert

For Submissions, Omissions or Errors, send an email to: D16-ScorecardEditor@d16acbl.org

6700 Middle Fiskville Austin, Texas 78752 (near IH-35 & US290E)

Two-Session Qualifying Event on Saturday Two-Session Final Event on Sunday Saturday Game Times: 10:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m. Sunday Game Times: 10:00 a.m. & TBD

If eight or less tables are in a Flight, the two-session Final Event is on Saturday.

$14.00 / Person / Session Free Coffee & Refreshments Free Meal on Sunday for Those Qualifying

Please Note: This event is NOT held in conjunction with the previous week’s Austin sectional tournament.

Event Chair: Larry Davis (larrysdavis@att.net, 512-343-6942)

BCA will host extra masterpoint games Friday, January 9 at 11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, January 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Regional Director's Update

By Rebecca Brown Region 9 Director

The summer in-person meetings of the ACBL Board of Directors were held in Philadelphia in conjunction with the Summer NABC. Congratulations to our teams who competed in the GNTs representing D16. As usual, the meetings were very full, building on the zoom meetings we hold between face-to-face meetings.

Here are some of the highlights of our meetings:

Finance

In June 2025, the gain from operations was $153k, exceeding the budget by $77k and was $59k better than the same period in 2024. Monthly revenues reached $1.26M, which was $5k above the $1.22M budget. Expenses were $1.1M, which was $72k (or 6.1%) below the budgeted $1.2M.

Year-to-date (YTD), the gain in net assets totaled $687k, which includes an unrealized gain from the change in market value of investments of $322k. This YTD gain is $1M greater than the budget but is $488k less than the $1.2M YTD gain from the previous year. The balance sheet remains strong, with $13.7M in cash and investments and $5.5M in deferred revenue from future membership expirations.

Membership

As of July 2025, the total number of members is 121,499. This represents a decrease of 7,707 members (-5.96%) compared to the same period last year. Yearto-date, new members total 4,145, which is an increase of 98 members (+2.42%) over the number of new members at this time last year.

Growing the Game

The ACBL president created a Task Force to develop incentives for member retention and rank progression. The Task Force and management collaborated to create a framework for member incentives- the Sapphire Program- a new way to recognize and reward new players. Sapphires are not points, but badges earned for progress and participation in various

activities, including completing lessons, playing at local clubs, bidding your first slam, etc.

Players will be able to combine Sapphires with cash to purchase exclusive merchandise from an upcoming online store. The first of these items – ACBL's 100th-anniversary gear – was sold in person at the Philadelphia NABC and met with great enthusiasm. This popular merchandise will be among the featured products in the new online store.

Guest Membership Program Updates

The ACBL has simplified its Guest Membership Program, now integrated with the Sapphire Program, to offer a clear pathway for new players to transition to full membership. Guest memberships are free and do not expire, allowing new players to join simply by providing their name, email, and zip code.

Upon signing up, guest members receive a welcome email with their member number. They also get access to the redesigned MyACBL portal to track their progress and celebrate wins, along with weekly bridge strategy tips delivered via email.

Guest members may earn up to 20 Masterpoints. Once this limit is reached, a full membership is required to continue earning points and to participate in regional and national tournaments. The program encourages this transition with a user-friendly process and a discounted rate for the first year of full membership.

Supporting Units & Districts

During its Memphis Spring meetings, the board addressed the challenges facing tournament organizers. This initiative focused on three key areas: optimizing tournament schedules, refining overall scheduling, and improving staffing models.

At the summer meetings in Philadelphia, ACBL Management (Management) and Board of Directors (Board) had the following recommendations: • Ending Online Events at F2F Regionals: Online events at F2F regional tournaments will no longer be approved due to low attendance and financial losses. Already scheduled events will be permitted to proceed, but organizers are encouraged to remove them from their schedules.

• Optimizing Tournament Schedules: The ACBL created a regional planning document, which incorporates best practices from various districts and units. This document is tailored for different tournament sizes and shared with all tournament organizers. ACBL Area Managers will serve as subject matter experts, assisting organizers to create more effective events and schedules.

• Exploring Approaches to Tournament Director (TD) Staffing: To address the high cost of staffing, Management is exploring a "staff-lite" approach. This involves more accurately pre-estimating staffing needs and having on-call backup directors instead of overstaffing tournaments from the outset.

• Championing Pre-Registration: Pre-registration has long been identified as a key solution for several challenges. It allows for better planning and more accurate staffing. The Board continues to support the expansion of the Entry Express system to regional tournaments for advance entry purchase. Incentives and methods to encourage other aspects of pre-registration will be explored.

• Evaluating the Future of Local Sectionals: Currently, Local Sectionals are Open Tournaments lasting one to three days with fewer than 25 tables per session. These events award silver masterpoints at a reduced rate and can be run by local certified directors or Tournament Assistants instead of a full-time ACBL Tournament Director.

The Board continues to consider whether to lift existing restrictions on these events, whether organizers should have the autonomy to manage the events to best serve their unique needs, and how changes would affect large Open Sectionals run by ACBL Tournament Directors.

Combating Online Cheating

The ACBL continues to utilize EDGAR (Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach) to detect online cheating. Since February 1, 2024, 12,089 players have been submitted for screening, with a total of 37,875 examined (this includes their partners). Approximately 900 players identified by EDGAR have been charged with collusive online cheating or have received Official Warnings.

The current online cheating rate, which includes all players (members, non-members, and inactive accounts), is estimated to be between 2.5% and 3%. Disciplinary actions have included Official Warnings (185), Fast Track Discipline (FTD) (571 players), Negotiated Resolutions (NR) (50), Expedited Disci-

plinary Panels (10), and Institute of Bridge Arbitration resolutions (15), with 24 resignations pending charges and 42 pending cases.

Revisions to Disciplinary Regulations

In response to widespread online cheating that began during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic, the ACBL implemented a strict disciplinary system to protect the game's integrity. The ACBL recognizes that this approach may have been too rigid, sometimes leading to punishments that were disproportionate to the offense. To address this, Management, in coordination with the Board, proposed a series of changes.

• Club Discretion for Suspended Players: Club leadership now has the discretion to allow suspended members to return to F2F club play under specific conditions. The policy for suspended members to participate in club games applies only to players who were charged after February 1, 2024. The reason for this specific date is that EDGAR was initiated on that date. The new policy is designed specifically for players who were flagged by this program. Suspended members who are permitted to play are still considered Members Not in Good Standing, may not play with any complicit partners, and are not permitted to direct games.

• Review of Pre-2022 Online Cheating Cases: All cases will be reviewed of players identified by EDGAR as colluding online, but who clearly ceased this behavior before 2022. The Office of the National Recorder will communicate any modifications to a player's current discipline directly to them.

• Revisions to the Ethics Certification and Fair Play Pledge (EC/FPP): The mandatory admission of guilt has been replaced with a "No Contest" plea. Players who receive an Official Warning are no longer required to submit an EC/FPP. Players who previously failed to submit their EC/FPP will be given a new opportunity to do so, potentially allowing for limited club play and a reduction in their current discipline. An Official Warning for collusive online cheating is still considered a first offense. A second violation of the same nature will result in expulsion if the player is found accountable.

Fall 2028 NABC Experimental Model Management proposed an experimental model for the fall 2028 North American Bridge Championship (NABC). This model focuses exclusively on national-level NABC and NABC+ events, while offering drop-in options to secondary events. The events will offer more opportunities for players of all levels to

compete, advance, and achieve. Pre-registration would be required, allowing the ACBL to source high-quality, mid-sized venues in cities that are not currently affordable due to larger space requirements. This approach has the potential to re-energize NABCs, with event space that matches attendance. The Board has authorized Management to research venue and event schedule options. The Board's next steps will be to define success metrics, manage potential risks, and plan for a smooth execution of the model.

New Masterpoint Class: Titanium Points

To recognize top-level performance for players with fewer than 10,000 Masterpoints, a new class of masterpoints, tentatively called Titanium Points, is being explored. Titanium would be awarded in top-tier national finals, bridging the gap between traditional Gold and Platinum points. Recipients would be recognized in NABC Bulletins, creating a new milestone for this player demographic.

ACBL Advisory Council (AC) Report ♠

By Tomi Storey

D16 Advisory Council Representative

Our latest AC meeting was held on July 26 at the Philadelphia NABC. Our standard practice now is to hold our meetings both in person and on Zoom. We also hold meetings before and after to go over what we will be addressing at the NABC and how we move forward after. Our next meeting is just after the Scorecard deadline, so this report will cover discussions from the NABC meeting.

General Membership Meeting

This summer meeting also included the annual general meeting and AC Chairman Popper turned the meeting over to ACBL President Margot Hennings. While we did not have general meeting quorum, ACBL CFO Jennifer Webster reported on our finances and ongoing litigations. There was little to report and little has been spent on legal issues at this point.

Management Report

ACBL CEO Bronia Jenkins then gave her management report. There were a number of issues discussed. The ACBL is working on a free guest membership program to make it easier to become a member, with the intent to turn them into paying members through an engagement program known as “Sapphire”. We are also in the middle of an IT upgrade to transition to more modern systems. The membership side of the program is complete and work has started on the masterpoint side.

Titanium Points

Ongoing work is also happening to give future NABC’s a new look, with proposed events that will

be between platinum multi-day NABC events and gold-rated regional events, paying a new point system tentatively called titanium. Any new structure, if approved, would not be rolled out before 2028.

Changes to Code Of Disciplinary Regulations

The most discussed item was the proposed changes to the Code of Disciplinary Regulations (CDR) where current punishments for players involved in illicit online collusion would be reduced in some cases. The most notable changes would be players who cheated in the 2020-2021 time period with fewer than 5,000 MP’s will now be given only a warning but will be allowed to play in any and all ACBL-sanctioned events. This new measure will be applied retroactively. Others who admitted to online cheating and accepted fasttrack discipline would be allowed to play in F2F club games at the discretion of the club managers.

This was quite a lively discussion. Jenkins admitted this was a split issue, where some members were calling for harsher punishment and some thought current punishments needed to be reduced. Jenkins stated that “in the end, rehabilitation is the goal, not punishment. Let them go back to the clubs and have their social lifelines back.” At present, ACBL membership stands at 121,000 and has been declining approximately 10,000 per year. We have four full time employees working on discipline and less working on marketing to grow the organization, hardly an ideal situation. Other organizations, such as USBF, have agree to reciprocity with the ACBL on discipline.

Advisory Council Meeting

On that note, the General Membership meeting was adjourned and the AC continued. Chairman Popper noted that our previous meeting has been mostly

technical board of directors motions and we had no new discussions about them. Two clarifications were made on a motion previously approved:

• The elimination of written defenses required against multi-2D systems applies only at NABC+ events at NABCs and

• The reason for the earlier deadline of March 31 rather than May 31 for candidates filing for ACBL elected officers in the new all-electronic voting system is necessary to deal with the eventuality of multiple candidates and possible runoff elections.

Teacher/Education Committee

We heard a report from the AC’s Teacher/Education committee, highlighting the importance of education to the future of the ACBL, urging all AC members to write articles for their District newsletters about any education and outreach programs.

Advisory Council CDR Voting

Our Advisory Council members will be voting on the CDR issue after the deadline for this Scorecard issue. I will update you about decisions here online after that meeting. We are fortunate to have a great newsletter and website to keep you informed. Please keep your Advisory Council Representatives informed about any information and concerns you have. As always, I can be reached at skeeter303@yahoo.com or you can also contact our district’s other two AC representatives- Betty Starzec at lstarzec@comcast.net and Larry Davis at larrysdavis@att.net. Our contact information is also on the D16 website.

Best of luck at the bridge table and beyond!

North American Pairs (NAP) Cycle Began in June ♠

By Larry Davis D16 NAP Coordinator

Players are strongly encouraged to play in NAP games offered at the club-level in June, July and August. You may play in these games as many times as you’d like (even after you’ve earned a qualification to play at the district-level).

Play Anywhere

You may play in any club in the ACBL – even if said club is not in your unit or district. No unit-level qualification is required to advance to the district-level (held January 10-11, 2026 in Austin).

Red Points & Stratifications

NAP games pay very well in masterpoints – half of any points earned are red points. There are four masterpoint strats: 0-750 (NLM), 0-3000, 0-6000 and 6000+. Your strat is dependent upon your masterpoint holding as of the May 7 ACBL monthly determination. If you later “advance” to the next higher level, your strat for NAP purposes remains as it was on May 7.

If you play at the district-level, you may play with any District 16 player in your strat who qualified – it does not have to be with someone with whom you previously played. So, make sure to jump into those club games and qualify to participate.

The Most Beautiful Game in the World ♠

By Patricia Herrera D16 Education Coordinator

Inmy last column I shared with you that the most beautiful game in the world, is not a game but an Olympic sport! And like all Olympic sports, it requires that we never stop learning. This is why it is the game you never truly master, and that’s what makes it so beautiful.

No matter how many years you’ve played or how many masterpoints you earned, there’s always something new to discover, to update, some small tweak that can make your partnership smoother and your play more precise.

The key to bridge greatness isn’t perfection – it’s continuous learning. So today I want to share some of my best tips that will help you to keep learning:

Embrace Curiosity

The best players are the most curious and open to new ideas and perspectives. After every session, ask yourself: What worked well today and what needs to be revisited? Chat with your partner or clubmates. Always welcome healthy dialogue and constructive feedback

Keep a Bridge Journal

Write down interesting or challenging hands or plays. Later, review them with friends, mentors, or online forums. Sometimes, it’s that one small insight – a better lead, an alternative bid – that leads to big improvements! Remember there is no stupid question ever!

Leverage Resources

District 16 offers a wealth of learning opportunities: Both English and Spanish lectures, club lessons, sectional seminars, Scorecard articles. Local teachers can tailor lessons to your needs, whether you’re just learning Stayman or figuring out advanced squeezes. Make sure you reach out to them!

Modern Tech

There are so many online resources for bridge, from video tutorials to interactive hand simulators to fantastic websites, live streaming and YouTube channels. Online platforms allow you to practice with robots or players from around the world, analyzing your play afterward. Social media groups and discussion boards are full of lively debates and expert advice

Partnership – Your Secret Weapon

Many of us focus on bidding systems and declarer play, but true advancement comes with partnership understanding. Take time to review conventions, agreements, and carding methods with your partner. Discuss what worked and where communication faltered. Sometimes, the smallest tweak – an agreedupon opening lead, or a clarified signal – can turn a good partnership into a great one

Keep Joy in Learning

This is probably the most important piece of advice. Improvement is most sustainable when learning is fun. Challenge yourself by playing in a new event or setting personal goals. Celebrate your victories, large and small, and remember to laugh off the inevitable blunders. Bridge is, after all, a beautiful game because of its ups and downs.

As you continue your journey, remember: the secret to better bridge is just one new idea or one honest postmortem away. Stay curious, use your resources – and above all, keep playing with joy.

The more, the merrier! We are always better together.

Patricia Herrera is a Mexican bridge teacher, player, coach and the Education Coordinator for the ACBL's District 16. She is part of the Women's team representing Mexico in the World Championships. Patricia is also the President of the Mexican Bridge Federation. When she is not playing bridge, she runs a nonprofit consulting firm based in Mexico City called Pontis, and is also a tour guide. You can reach her at: herrerapatricia@gmail.com

For Whom (in D16) Did the (Liberty) Bell Toll?

The Summer NABC in Philadelphia

By Scott Nason D16 NABC Corrsepondent

TheNationals returned to Philadelphia after seven years. The last time was in March 2018. And as usual, the Summer Nationals opened with the four flights of Grand National Teams, in which District 16 entered fine teams in each flight:

Championship Flight: Dinkin – Sam Dinkin (Austin), Finn Kolesnik (Austin), Bob Morris (Houston), Venkat Koneru (San Antonio), Greg Hinze (San Antonio)

A: Hanus – Pawel Hanus (Carrollton), Ari Sippola (Richardson), Ying Peng, James Zhan, Jessie Lee (all Sugar Land)

B: Jaeger – Phillip Jaeger, Frank Floca, Linda Griffith (all Austin), Thomas Hackenberg (Round Rock)

C. Xu – Wei Xu, Jinrong Wang, Xinyun Zheng (all Sugar Land)), Kai Liu (Thomball)

On day one, each flight ran a Swiss Qualifying, and three D16 teams – The Championship Flight Dinkin team, Flight A’s Hanus team, and Flight C’s Xu team all easily advanced to the KO round.

Thursday, July 24

On day two, the GNTs continued and all three D16 easily won their matches and advanced to the quarterfinals round of 8.

Also on Thursday, the rest of the events got underway. The first to break through with a big success was young Charlie Chen (Austin), who was 13th in the Open Pairs, but second in the B stratification. Chris Kollenberg (Houston) and Phillip Grothus (Bucerias) were 16th. Charlie’s brother, Andrew, was 6th in B.

In teams, Nancy Ferguson (Houston) won bracket 4.

Friday, July 25

By Friday, it was time to start the prestigious NABC+ events with the first round of the Von Zedtwitz Pairs. Andrew and Charlie, whose combined ages add to less than 95% of the players in the field, jumped out with a very strong 7th place finish in the first session in the field of 320 pairs. They “faded” to a still impressive 26th at the end of day one. D16 qualifiers were led by Sally Wheeler and Buddy Hanby (The Woodlands) in 4th and Eric Greco (Frisco) in 12th.

On day three of the GNTs, all three D16 teams were defeated to finish tied for 5th (i.e., 5/8) in their respective flights.

In the Bruce 0-6000 LM Pairs, the only D16 qualifiers were Jeff Dater (Dallas) and Suvabrata Biswas (Katy), who were in the seventh spot. Is there something in the Philadelphia water that brings out the best bridge in Jeff, as it was the same spot in 2018 in which he won the North American Pairs Flight B? Make sure you don't miss Jeff's Masterpoint Milestone Message in this issue. It'll make you realize just how amazing Jeff's achievements are.

In the Open Pairs, Arjune Bose (Houston) and Eddie Wold (Houston) were 2nd.

In Bracketed Swiss Teams, Jane Kirby, Susan Bates, Ruthie Shor, and Kate Hopkins (all Dallas) were 3rd in B3. And in B6 the GNT Flight B Jaeger team reassembled for 3rd place.

Saturday, July 26

On Saturday, several prestigious multi-day pair events continued, and one got started (the NABC+ Pairs). It wasn’t a terribly successful day for our D16 qualifiers, with several getting knocked out on day two, although Eric Greco, Bob Hamman (Dallas) and Kristen Onsgard (Dallas) made it through to the finals in the Von Zedtwitz. On the first day of the NABC+

Pairs Ying Peng and James Zahn led D16 qualifiers in 21st.

In the two-session Open Pairs, Phillip Jaeger and Thomas Hackenberg were 11th overall and 5th in B. Kathleen McDougall (Richmond) was 2nd in flight B of the Afternoon Side Game. In the evening side game, Lina Griffith and Frank Floca were 1st and Charlie Chen was 2nd.

In teams, Jerome Tilles (Spring) was 3rd in B2. Paddy Fiorino (Missouri City), Lauri Laufman (Houston) and Susan and Robert Domsalla (Tomball) won B4.

Sunday, July 27

On Sunday, several big events concluded. On the third and final day of the Von Zedtwitz, Bob Hamman and Kristen Onsgard parlayed a 60% final session to move up to 15th place.

In the NABC+ Open Pairs, Barbara Ferm was 10th and Sam Dinkin was 11th.

In the two-session Open Pairs, Cenk Tuncok (Carrollton) and Lynn Baker (Austin) were 14th. In the afternoon side game, Evan Marti (Houston) was 2nd.

In teams, Buddy Hanby and Sally Wheeler were 5th in the Top-Flight. Jeff Dater and Suvabrata Biswas were 2nd in B, while Andrew and Charlie Chen were 6th. John Luebkemann (Aubrey) was 10th in MidFlight Teams, while Val and Dale Remmers (Plano) were 13th.

That evening, many players came out for “Beyond Bridge”, featuring karaoke, arcade games, bowling, a photo booth, and more.

Monday, July 28

Monday marked the start of the premier team event, the Spingold Knockout Teams with many D16 players advancing to the round of 64.

In the Women’s Wagar, D16 was prominently represented at the top of the first day leaderboard. Shawn Quinn (Sugar Land) was sitting in second place, Nancy Passell (Plano) was seventh, and Sarah Chen (Austin) and Jessie Lee were in ninth place.

Not so in the Truscott/USPC Senior Swiss Teams, where our highest qualifiers were the team of Ira Hessel (San Antonio), Joe Quinn (Sugar Land), Sally Wheeler and Buddy Hanby were in the 23rd spot.

In the morning side game, Dale and Val Remmers were 5th, and 1st in B. In the afternoon, Nathan Yee (Spring) had the same result.

In team games, John Luebkemann was 2nd in B6. Linda Gaston (Pflugerville) was 2nd in B12. And

Thomas Brown (Rosenberg), Lesley Kellet, Tonya McNabb and Bob Mendel (all Houston) were 2nd in B13.

Tuesday, July 29

On Tuesday, the KO rounds of the Spingold got underway and the Senior Swiss Teams and Women’s Pairs concluded. The team of Ira Hessel, Joe Quinn, Sally Wheeler and Buddy Hanby were 9th in the Senior Swiss, while Michael Heymann (Fort Worth) was 11th.

Wagar Women’s Pairs

Wagar Women’s Pairs Winners

Shawn Quinn & Pam Wittes

Shawn Quinn and her partner, Pam Wittes (Venice, California) won the Wagar Women’s Pairs by a huge margin. This was Shawn’s first win since the Wagar became a pairs event, but she won it several times when it was a team event.

Sarah Chen and Jessie Lee moved up to take 4th place, Bobbi Kauffman (Houston) and Chris Kollenberg were 17th and Nancy Passell finished 19th.

In the Spingold, several D16 players made it through to the round of 32. Eric Greco, Bob Hamman, Finn Kolesnik, and Mike Passell (Plano) all won their first-round matches. One team that did not win, but still acquitted themselves quite well, was the Chen team, where Charlie and Andrew must have been elated to play against the 2nd seeded Zimmerman team. The young Chens only trailed by 10 IMPs after the first set before succumbing to their world champion opponents. Only in bridge!

Kathryn Papermaster (Horseshoe Bay) was second in the Mid-Flight Pairs. In Bracketed B Teams, the Domsalla/Fiorino/Laufman was second in Bracket 4. William Keys (Dallas) and Deborah Armstrong (Dallas) won B7. Nathan Yee won B10. Tonya McNabb, Lesley Kellet, Bob Mendel (all Houston) and Thomas Brown (Rosenberg) were second in B11.

Wednesday, July 30

On Wednesday the Freeman Mixed Board-AMatch Teams got underway. The top District qualifiers were the team of Shawn and Joe Quinn, Ira and Ellen Hessel, and Buddy Hanby and Sally Wheeler. Also starting this day was the Wernher Open Pairs, where we had a few qualifiers, but no one in the top 40.

In the Spingold, Eric Greco and Mike Passell advanced to the round of 16. But only one of them would make it to the next round, as they would face each other on Thursday.

In the Open Pairs, James Breihan (Houston) and Jane Boozalis (Houston) were 10th. In Bracketed Teams, William Keys and Deborah Armstrong were 2nd in B6. Jackie and Philip Brown (Frisco), Kathy Russler (Dallas) and Anne Goodman (Fairview) won B7, creating lots of new rank achievements. Phil and Kathy became new Bronze Life Masters and Jackie became a Silver Life Master. Linda Gaston won B8, giving her the points she needed to also become a Silver Life Master.

That night was Bridge Mania, with Jeopardy (hosted by James Holzhauer and easily won by longtime D16 expert Bart Bramley), Family Feud (hosted by Zack Grossack) and other games. It was a fine opportunity to stay indoors, as the 3-digit temperatures continued to roast those who ventured out of the air conditioning.

Thursday, July 31

On Thursday, the Freeman BAM Teams concluded, and the Quinn/Hessel/Hanby/Wheeler team moved up to capture sixth place. Eddie Wold was 13th and Greg Hinze was 17th. In the Wernher Open Pairs, several D16 players moved up in the standings on the final day. Venkat Koneru finished 19th, Robert Morris and Arjune Bose were 28th and Andrew Chen was 33rd.

In the Spingold, Eric Greco’s (Nickell) team defeated Mike Passell’s (Goodman) team. Meanwhile, big upsets abounded. The Rippey team that started out with the 32nd seed, continued their Cinderella run, following up their upset of the #1 seed with a narrow win over the 17th seed. And the 15th seeded Ventin team knocked the #2 seed out.

On the first day of the 0-10000 Pairs, James Breihan and Jane Boozalis led D16 qualifiers in the fourth spot.

In the Top-Flight Pairs, Michael Heymann (Fort Worth) finished first. Norman Beck (Dallas), playing

with long-time Dallasite Bart Bramley, finished 10th. In Fast Pairs, Melody Gann (Arlington) and Nancy Peterson (Euless) were 3rd.

Raphael Stone (Austin) was 3rd in the Collegiate Individual.

In Bracketed Swiss Teams, Charlene Coor (Austin) was 3rd in B4. William Keys, Deborah Armstrong, John Luebkemann and Kathleen McDougall were 3rd in B5. Jacqueline and Philip Brown, Kathy Russler and Anne Goodman were 3rd in B7. Nathen Yee was 2nd in B8 and the Domsallas were 3rd. The team of Lesley Kellet, Bob Mendel, Tonya McNabb (all Houston) and Thomas Brown (Rosenberg) won B9.

Friday, August 1

On Friday the Roth Open Swiss Teams kicked off. Mark Feldman (Austin) was the top D16 qualifier, sitting in 8th place. Mike Passell was in 14th.

The 0-10000 Pairs concluded with James Breihan and Jane Boozalis turning in another strong showing to finish 7th.

The Quarterfinals of the Spingold had some very exciting matches, including Eric Greco’s (Nickell) match against the 11th seeded Hans team. Hans led most of the match and still had a narrow lead with five boards to play. But the match would turn on two 3NT contracts bid by Greco/Hampson and not bid at the other table. One was cold, for 12 IMPs to Greco’s team. The other should go down, but the opponents failed the critical test. The defense had taken one trick and Hampson had his nine tricks as soon as he got the lead. Looking at ♠Qx in dummy, Hampson’s LHO led the ♠J from ♠KJT9. Dummy played the ♠Q, RHO played the ♠A and went into the tank. A spade return would beat the vulnerable game, but it was not to be. With 12 deciding IMPs to the Nickell team, Greco was heading to the semi-finals.

Alex Han (Katy) was 10th in the Collegiate Pairs. Chris Kollenberg and Phillip Grothus were 21st in the Open Pairs. Ira Hessel and Nancy Passell won the Afternoon Side Pairs. But D16 was shut out in the bracketed team games this day – apparently most of our teamers had returned to Texas.

Saturday, August 2

On Saturday, the last D16 player departed the Spingold. Eric Greco’s (Nickell) team lost a close match to finish tied for 3rd in this most prestigious team event. But several D16 players had outstanding qualifying performances in the remaining two-day events.

In the NABC+ Roth Open Swiss, Mike Passell

qualified 2nd and Sam Dinkin 3rd.

In the 0-10000 Swiss Teams, D16 also came back strong. Leading all qualifiers were the team of Steven Wood (Austin), Kalyan Venkat (Round Rock), Charlene Sands (Driftwood) and Kim Brinkman (Austin). And Steve and Sarah Chen sat in fourth position.

In the Oshlag Fast Pairs, Norman Beck qualified in 6th place. In the Bean Red Ribbon, Sandra Sarnow and Ariel Smid (Huixquilucan) qualified 2nd.

In the Collegiate Pairs Championship, Thomas Matheos and Rohan Srivastava (Denton) were 12th. Alex Han was 8th in B.

Sunday, August 3

Finally, it was Sunday, and the Philadelphia NABCs reached its last day. The morning session was a very successful one for D16, with several of the above-named qualifiers very much in the hunt at midday. Dinkin moved up to 2nd in the Roth. The Wood team held its own in 5th and the Chen’s were sitting 8th in the 0-10000 Mixed Swiss. Beck moved up to 2nd in the Oshlag Fast Pairs. And Sarnow and Smid took the lead in the Bean Red Ribbon. All this set up for an exciting conclusion.

By Sunday night, the first to finish – surprise! –was the Fast Pairs, where Norman Beck finished 2nd, narrowly missing out on his first NABC+ win. In the Roth Open Swiss, Sam Dinkin was 7th, Lynn Baker (Austin) 11th, Mike Passell 16th, and Finn Kolesnik

17th. In the 0-10000 Mixed Teams Steven Wood, Kalyan Venkat, Charlen Sands and Kim Brinkman were 4th and the Chens were 8th. Sandra Sarnow and

Ariel Smid finished 2nd in the Bean Red Ribbon. No wins, but still a series of very impressive performances. Finally, Michael Heymann was 11th in the Top-Flight Teams.

Summary

In summary, Shawn Quinn brought home the only National Championship to D16, but many players had a variety of successes. The biggest masterpoint winners were Eric Greco with 145, Shawn Quinn 140, Sam Dinkin 123, Buddy Hanby and Sally Wheeler 100, Mike Passell 93, Finn Kolesnik 91, Norman Beck and Ira Hessel 89. Congratulations to everyone for a great tournament.

See you in San Francisco.

D A L L A S

Second in Oshlag Fast Pairs

Norman Beck & Alan Sontag (Gaithersburg, Maryland)

Runners-up in the Bean Red Ribbon Pairs

Ariel Smid & Sandra Sarnow

District 16 Clubs raised $66,756 for The Longest Day Fundraiser

TwelveDistrict 16 clubs reported about their participation in the ACBL's June Fundraiser to support the Alzheimer's Association research. The generosity of our members is what makes this annual fundraiser a district-wide success. Enjoy reading about the participating club members' generosity.

Unit 174 – Houston

Unit 174 reported that five of their clubs participated in the fundraiser.

Clear Lake Bridge Club (CLBC)

CLBC always participated in the fundraiser, but it was 2018 when the club made it their major annual fundraiser.

2025 marks the club's 8th year and their members' donations have steadily risen.

CLBC announced their 2025 total donation is: $15,238.00. This new milestone is due to one very generous member's $5,000.00 donation.

Front & Center

Organizer Lauri Laufman & Jack LaVigne & TLD Team Members

The Longest Day Director Paula Wissman, Co-chair Tomi Porterfield, Chair Karen Jones, Lauri Laufman & Committee Members Edna Rice & Dolores Aquino

Bridge Academy of West Houston (BAWH)

Although BAWH was started more recently, the club's participation in the fundraiser has consistently increased.

Led this year by Lauri Laufman, BAWH announced their 2025 total donation and new milestone is $11,277.00. You can read more about their activities later in this issue.

S tar Duplicate Bridge Club (SDBC)

SDBC quietly keeps on rolling from College Station! While they now have a total membership of 57, they consistently deliver for this fundraiser. Thirty-four of their members are in the photo taken by Shirley Duble.

The club's members are always generous and this year that generosity also allowed the club to reach a new milestone with their announcement of $5,400.00.

Lone Star Bridge Club (LSBC)

LSBC is proud to report that The Longest Day game and Silent Auction have had another successful year. The members' generosity to support the fundraiser never wavers. They announced their total donation is $5,140.00

Bridge Club of Houston (BCOH)

BCOH combined The Longest Day with a 499er Sectional Tournament.

The generosity of the club's members and friends made the event a success with a total donation of $3,591.00

Unit 176 – Dallas

Unit 176 reported that two of their clubs participated in The Longest Day Fundraiser.

Valley View Bridge Club (VVBC)

VVBC raised $6,297.00.

Friendly Bridge Club (FBC) FBC raised $1,362.00.

Star DBC - 34 of their 57 Members

Team Captain Dolores Aquino & Team Members

Unit 183 – Fort

Western

Unit 183 reported that two of their clubs participated in The Longest Day Fundraiser.

Granbury Bridge Club (GBC)

This is the third consecutive year that the generosity of GBC’s members exceeded $10,000. In 2022, Carmond Fitzgerald was presented with the Linda Powers Award for his leadership with the fundraiser. This is a national award given to one person annually. That leadership has been sustained. So, 2025 is no different because GBC raised $10,645.00.

Arlington Duplicate Bridge Club (ADBC)

This year, ADBC raised a total of $2,856.00. Of that amount, $2,556.00 was because of the generosity of their members. The balance was their game fees.

Unit 201 – Sabine Neches

Unit 201 reported that two of their clubs participated in The Longest Day Fundraiser.

Beaumont Bridge Studio (BBS) & Orange Community Bridge League (OCBL)

BBS and OCBL have been participating in this annual fundraiser for 12 years. Over that time, they have raised more than $70,000.00. This year they reported their donations totaled $1,950. You can read more about their activities in this issue.

Unit 225 – East Texas

Unit 225 reported that one of their clubs participated in The Longest Day.

Pittsburg Duplicate Bridge Club (PDBC)

This is the fourth year that PDBC participated in the fundraiser. They set their 2025 goal at $1,500.00 but exceeded that by 100%! Due to the generosity of their members, PDBC raised $3,000.00. You can read more about their club and the member’s generosity in this issue.

We are proud of our clubs that participated this year! It is lots of work to organize the events and so much fun when we see successes.

Carmond Fitzgerald 2022 Linda Powers Award Winner

New Members

June 2025-July 2025

172 Wyatt David

172 Vicki Houston

162 Sabrina Rios

172 Latoya Sapp

174 Trish Bing

174 Patricia Blandford

174 Linda Cannon

174 John Crabb

174 Steve Ho Lung

174 Frank Inselbuch

174 Gail Little

174 Leslie Pelezo

Junior Master (5 MPs)

173 Claudia Morales

174 Allan T Chen

174 Joe Cusack

174 Christine A Feng

174 C Gaskill

174 Gaile Howland

174 David Jones

174 Lawrence Lachman

174 Pamela L Richmond

174 John St Pierre

174 Syed A Tirmizi

174 Xingwei Wu

174 Beth H Young

176 Rozlyn Ackermann

176 Joyce C Colbeck

176 Connie Hardy

183 Madonna Ferris

183 Barbara Graves

174 Louise Slater

174 Paul Szydlowski

174 Asma Tirmizi

174 Xingwei Wu

176 Shala Aziz

176 Paul Flynn

176 Kerry Peabody

176 Naeem Siddiqui

176 Amy Swanner

176 Janis Wilkes

183 Jason Besly

183 Johnny Conner

183 Laura Huehn

183 Victor Luechtefeld

183 David Plazak

183 Rosalie Reeder

197 Malini Parameswaran

201 Frances Ferrett

204 Sherrie Bouissey

207 Girish Altekar

207 Frances Cerbins

207 Jerry Sloss

207 Hui Wen

233 Herman Jeter

Masterpoint Milestones

June 2025-July 2025

183 Mr. John K Osoinach, Jr

207 Kirby L Boston

207 Merlyn Cross

207 Clay Douglass

207 Angela Driscoll

207 Ahsan Kabeer

207 Claire Kirk

225 Thelma H Dalmas

233 Vicente Loe III

Club Master (20 MPs)

172 Martin Fitch

172 Giva G Frashier

173 Ms. Steffany Arnoldi

173 Graciela Y Becerra

173 Silvia Garza Buentello

174 Sarah M Arends

174 Jennifer Gottschalk

174 Kai Liu

174 Eva Domene Molnar

174 Aksana Miakish

174 Mary Jane Naquin

174 Dorothea Pongetti

176 William G McGilvray

176 Belynn Whatley

183 Richard J Bauer Jr

183 Tyrone Frazier

197 Cassie Barron

197 Mark Sneed

201 Richard Turkel

207 Deborah Bowman

207 Jan Lamonte

207 William McDonald

207 Dennis Schmidt

225 Rand James

225 Joanna Jewett

225 John O Sullivan

Sectional Master (50 MPs)

172 Anita L Ramirez

174 Mrs. Mary Bowman

174 Mr. Steven Bowman

174 Ms.Pamela L Carter

174 Mrs. Kathryn M Johnson

174 Glen Petrick

174 Roslyn H Pittsford

174 Audrey C Vinyard

174 Mrs. Sandra Weir

174 Karen L White

174 Mr. Thomas B Willing

176 Tina A Macdonald

197 Gunilla B Botros

197 Sappho H Charney

197 Renee Hester

207 William D King

207 John Pimm

207 Ruth G Pimm

207 Robert Struzynski

207 Pat P Wyman

209 Linda Leps

209 Phillip R Middleton

224 Jill Rejeanne

Regional Master (100 MPs)

172 Ms. Janet L Anderson

174 Loretta N Cross

174 Tamara R Fincher

174 Joan Land

174 Ann Starr

176 Rick Degrauwe

176 Sandy Lantz

183 R Michael Hayes

201 Tom Watson

204 Mrs. Hope S Garza

207 Kenneth E Blazek

207 Ms. Carol A Peters

207 Sandra Searls

207 Amy Seitz

209 Scott D Johnson

225 Karen C Schmidt

233 Jean L Lara

NABC Master (200 MPs)

174 Steve Broderick

174 Ms. Felecia Y Peavy

174 Ellen T Rochelle

176 Mr. Danny L Gordon

176 Mrs. Mildred Walker

183 Brenda J Schrader

207 Ms. Tracy Bruce

207 MacDonald Kempf

207 Jan W McLaurin

209 Kay B Arrell

209 Mark R Beckstrom

209 Patti Heard

224 Beverly Joosten

225 Dr. Carroll R Schoenewolf

Advanced NABC Master (300 MPs)

174 Jessie Y Lee

176 Hanuman P Goel

176 Fran Shelton

207 Mr. B Schuller

209 Travis A Woodward

Life Master (500 MPs*)

172 Sisir K Sharma

174 Mr. Francis V Gay

174 Scott Koehler

201 Susan V Pennington

Bronze Life Master (750 MPs**)

174 Mrs. Judy E Boyce

174 Mrs. Carolyn B Clapp

174 Scott Koehler

174 Kathleen J Pflueger

174 Mrs. Baijanti Shrestha

183 Ms. Karen Vlach

207 Genie B Nyer

225 Karen S Bell

254 Mr. Ian R Irving

Silver Life Master (1000 MPs)

172 Albert E Fulton

172 Sisir K Sharma

174 Mrs. Cindy A Skeels

176 Ms. Linda J Jimmerson

176 Marcia B Messinger

183 Mrs. Wilma A Hill

183 Chuck Mogged Jr

187 Mrs. Katherine E Powers

Ruby Life Master (1500 MPs)

173 Ariel Smid

174 Mr. R J Englert

174 Jeannie Stone

174 Billie K Watkins

174 Ms. Shirley Watts

183 Mr. John Luebkemann

197 Mr. Will Anthony

201 Mr. Wayne Outlaw

207 Mrs. Bobbie Gruhlkey

207 Scott L Peeples

224 Ms. Darla J Mawson

225 Mrs. Jo A Booth

Gold Life Master (2500 MPs)

174 Mrs. Marsha G Boyer

174 Mr. Kas Rangan

174 Mr. Jack Rawitscher

176 Lynn C Cooper

176 Mr. Jimmy J Justice

Sapphire Life Master (3500 MPs)

176 Mr. Jeff Dater

Diamond Life Master (5000 MPs)

173 Mrs. Laura G Salinas

174 Ms. Susan M Kaplan

Emerald Life Master (7500 MPs)

174 Mr. James E Breihan

Platinum Life Master (10000 MPs)

207 Pam Lashelle

*Prior to January 1, 2010 - 300 MPs

**Prior to January 1, 2010- 500 MPs

Playing Site

New Braunfels Civic Center 380 Seguin Ave New Braunfels, TX 78130

Thursday, September 4, 2025 – Cost $14 / person / session

10:00 am Stratified Pairs (single session)

3:00 pm Stratified Teams

10:00 am & 3:00 pm 499er Stratified Pairs

Friday, September 5, 2025 – Cost $14 / person / session

10:00 am & 3:00 pm Stratified Pairs (single sessions)

10:00 am & 3:00 pm 499er Stratified Pairs

Saturday, September 6, 2025 – Cost $14 / person / session

Hotel:

Comfort Suites, 1489 N IH 35 (830) 643-1100

Thursday & Friday are Single Sessions

10:00 am & 3:00 pm Stratified Pairs (2 session play through) 10:00 am & 3:00 pm 499er Stratified Pairs

Sunday, September 7, 2025 – Cost $144 per team

10:00 & TBA Nell Morgan Stratified Swiss Teams Meal served between Sunday’s session

Tournament Chair: Ann Kuehler (830) 708-0001 annkuehler@gmail.com

499er Game (3 Table Minimum) Thursday-Saturday

Stratifications: A: 2500+ B: 0-2500 C: 0-750 All Events Average MP’s Strats changes at the discretion of the DIC Director:

$7 Discount for Students

$4 additional per session for unpaid/lapsed ACBL members

Guest Speaker on Saturday at 2:30 pm Door Prizes

Non-members: must sign up for a FREE 120-Day Guest Membership go to acbl.org/membership

Partnership Chair: Hospitality Chair: Cashless Entry Only

Tournament Co Chair:

Nearby

Masterpoint Milestone Messages

Alberta Birk

Ruby Life Master Unit 204 - Mason

I’mthrilled to have reached Ruby Life Master status.

I began playing duplicate bridge in 2006 when we retired to Mason. Prior to that I played contract or “party” bridge for many years. I did not realize the complete satisfaction of bridge playing until I joined the duplicate club.

For years I attended tournaments all over the country. Such thrilling adventures.

I appreciate the online availability of play that ACBL made possible when COVID-19 disrupted our person-to-person games. Since then, I have earned over 465 points playing online. Thanks to the ACBL. I would not have my current rank without that venue.

It’s a fascinating and challenging game. I love it!

Jeff Dater

Sapphire Life Master Unit 176 - Dallas

My last 200 Masterpoints In

July I received an email congratulating me on achieving Sapphire Life Master from our district representative, Rebecca Brown. In it she asked if there was anything I'd like to share about my 20 plus year bridge experience. Writing this feels like I've just bid a slam requiring 3 finesses but here I go.

Bridge Beginnings

I learned to play bridge as a kid. My Mom played and taught me a 2 person version of the game so she'd have someone besides my Dad to play with. Seems he liked to overbid as if getting the contract was more important than making it. I know, it's genetic.

In 2002 I was playing volleyball and first learned about the ACBL. Several of the players were bridge players as well and my curiosity and competitive nature kicked into high gear. I'd sit and watch them play and listen as they planned tournament schedules and talked about the next GNT qualifier. It wasn't long

before I was hooked, playing all over the country in all types of events.

In 2021 we moved to Alabama but retirement on the coast didn't turn out to be the answer and back to Dallas we came in June of 2023. And I was looking forward to a lot more bridge.

Temporal Focal Epilespsy

On October 3rd of 2023 I was diagnosed with Temporal Focal Epilepsy. Medication stabilized me within a few months, and it wasn't long before I got a sense of what this had done. The temporal lobe is where memories reside, and the length of my seizure activity wiped out a lot. I've got a level of familiarity with people I've known and to the outside world I'm fine. Get me in a conversation about the past and I get quiet pretty fast.

Last year was spent figuring things out by having a LOT of conversations, reviewing 15,000 photos, years of emails, financial documents or anything I could get my hands on to rebuild my past. I wasn't aware of what I didn't know until it came up in conversation. Still don't.

2018 NAP B Win in Philadelphia

I know my career, travel and a few other topics are beyond my ability to recall. And so is a big part of bridge. I can't remember the games that got me my first 3300 points. (That's not a fun thing to see in print). I have a picture with me and Scott Nason winning the 2018 NAP B in Philadelphia but can't tell you a thing about it.

Trying to Regain My Memories

I have spent hours reviewing online to see the partners and results through the years. I know the players but not playing with them. As I played in 2024 I thought my bridge brain and the mechanics of the game was one thing that remained unscathed.

Sitting at the tables last year proved me wrong. I still had a good foundation for the game but it wasn't until the middle of the year that I came to grips with what was missing. I didn't know most conventions anymore.

I told a few of my partners some of what was going on but I never felt comfortable telling them everything. Who'd want to play? I'd already lost most of my

steady partnerships with the move to and from Alabama. My confidence was affecting my game at this point.

Started Over

So I did what I did at the beginning. I got my Bergen out and read. I went online and studied Gerber of all things. Who forgets Gerber? NMF, XYZ or any other acronym you could find and I was reading it. And reading it again. And I went back to the basics reviewing everything. How do you know what you've forgot?

KC Regional in Houston

About his time I noticed I was getting closer to 3500. I had scheduled the KC Regional with a friend from Houston who sent me bidding sequences from Pavlicek. Shape bids and more shape bids. It's what he played so I studied again. KC came and we did fine for the first few days. I didn't double check if 4 clubs would be Gerber if partner had opened a club and ended up down 7 when he passed. The final day we played A/X Swiss with a great pair from Houston and won. I was probably too giddy but so be it. It meant a lot to me. After the game I went to my car and started crying. Not the reaction I expected (or most who know me) but it was the end of a very long year.

Play Whenever I Could

Returning to Dallas I decided to play whenever I could. I needed points. I phoned the club and asked them to find me partners. I tried to get games with prior partners. I played with people I never should have been at a table with. I just played. One day I showed up to find the sweetest woman with her 24 masterpoints seated across from me. She showed me her card and we played. And did well. We played for a few months and I helped her get her fist piece of a gold point. She doesn't know it but she gave me something too. Every game all she did was try her best. I got my last 200 points. Or my first 200 depending on your perspective.

Not a Poor Me Story

I did not write this as a poor me story. Quite the opposite. I have an amazing life and more memories to build. I wrote it as a story of perseverance with a nod to the obstacles we all face. Grab a book or get online and learn something new about bridge. The effort is worth it. And the next time you're sitting at the bridge table think before you speak. You'll never know what it took those around you just to get a seat in the game.

Al Fulton Silver Life Master

Unit 172 - San Antonio

AsI think about appropriate responses to your request for thoughts which might inspire, or at least, provide hope to beginning bridge players, the following occurs to me:

• First: Take advantage of the mentor program which your unit offers. It provides a no-fault, no-guilt entry into the experience of playing with more seasoned players.

• Second: Listen, Read, and Play. Listen to comments of experienced players. Most are happy to share constructive comments. Read. There are books, guides and articles covering every aspect of the game to whatever level of expertise with which you are comfortable. Play As your table time grows, so will your ability to recognize situations and how to deal with them.

• Third: You learn from mistakes. Results improve as you learn to avoid repeating them.

• Fourth: I view my experience as a beginning bridge player similar to a snowball rolling downhill. You start small, but as your experience grows your circle of partners grows as better and better players are willing to play with you and your points and rank grows as well.

• Fifth: Enjoy the game. It is a great intellectual and social pastime.

What else can you ask for?

Jan Lamonte Club Master

Unit 207 - Dallas

IjoinedJoan Butts Online School of Bridge (OSB) in 2021 to learn how to play bridge. Joan is an Australian bridge player and teacher. I really like her website and teaching style. I was able to learn basic bridge but wasn’t able to advance and kept getting defeated while playing random hands. So I took a break.

I saw Bridge Center of Austin (BCA) was offering beginning bridge lessons based on Audrey Grant’s books. This was in January 2023. The time and day of the week and pricing was good for me, but I hesitated due to the drive distance. Then I said, “I’m going for it.”

At our initial class I met my first bridge partner, Jeannie Phelps, and soon to be other bridge friends. I don’t think I missed any sessions. I signed up for the next class, and then the next, etc. as they were offered. I took a total of six classes at BCA, including 2/1 and a more “advanced” conventions class, over a period of 18 months or so. I highly recommend classes offered at BCA for any bridge player who wants to learn and improve any aspect of their game.

I always remember our instructor, Sally Sassen, inviting us to play in the various weekly duplicate games available at BCA. We were all so afraid to play in the big room. But now I am and maybe only the first few sessions were intimidating but EVERYONE was so encouraging and helpful. And I have returned to Joan Butts OSB and everything makes so much more sense. I want to be a good bridge player.

Nothing beats playing live hands at BCA to bring it all together. And to see my “classmates”.

(Adding 0-20 game after bridge classes was a fantastic idea.)

Edward Nelson Regional Master Unit 172 - Bandera

Iplayedbridge for many years. I was taught by my parents and really picked it up in college in the mid to late 60’s. I had never played duplicate and only played bridge rarely for the last 39 + years.

I moved to Arizona in 2014 and about a year after moving there I got a speeding ticket and to satisfy that I had to go to traffic school which was held at a hotel. I arrived at the hotel there was a group of women playing bridge so I sat down talked to them until my appointment. When I was done, I came out and they asked me to join them. I became a regular player.

I had played with them for about three months and one of ladies told me she was a Life Master and asked me if I wanted to play duplicate. I was hesitant but I said I would try. In about a month I got 1/3 of a masterpoint. This got me excited. I hooked up with one of the players at the club and we did real well for about a year or so and then we parted ways because we moved back to Texas. I did not play for about three years and I had about 90 masterpoints by then. We moved to Bandera and I found a duplicate game in Kerrville. In the last 3-4 months I picked 10+ masterpoints and that’s how I got here.

I am very grateful for the ACBL keeping me interested. I have been playing with people who are great but they do not play aggressively. Hopefully I can find someone to take it up a level or two but if not, I will continue to play and have fun.

One highlight was playing in the NABC and what an experience that was. I watched the pros play and they play a system that I am not familiar with but what fun that was to see it.

Andrew Remson Ruby Life Master Unit 174 - Spring

My mother, Joyce, taught me to play bridge when I was a youngster. I played rubber bridge when I could through high school. Then in college, my friends and I used Goren’s book as our guide and played most every night for my early college years (we slowed down a bit when we all moved off campus).

For the next 30 years I would play on occasion, but most of my bridge came from reading bridge columns in newspapers. I played twice in duplicate games, but knew nothing about the ACBL or masterpoints.

My entry into more organized bridge was again facilitated by my mother. She gave my son, Ian, a computer bridge game which he zipped through and enjoyed. On a visit to my mother and my stepdad, Ian and I played bridge, and I asked about the games in which they were playing. After returning home, I learned that the Bridge Center of Houston was nearby. Ian and I started to go to Barbara Phillips’ Thursday night lesson and 0-5 game. I still remember when we earned our first 0.09 masterpoints in a game. My work was on a 9/80 schedule, which allowed me to play every other week in the Friday 299er game. As my personal work schedule became even more flexible, I played more and more.

When the club needed another director, Margie Patterson coached me through the rules and I became a club director. I also served a few years as the club’s treasurer and had a term on the board.

A few years ago, I got best practice certified, and I now share a beginner teaching class with Susan Banks-Johnson. I truly love and appreciate our game. I’d probably get to play more if I could convince my wife to take up bridge. Most of my time away from the table is due to travel. We travel for skiing, square dancing, hiking, and family, but not for bridge.

Judi Whaling Life Master Unit 174 - Houston

Discovering the Game

My introduction to bridge was, in retrospect, serendipitous. In 2016 my elderly parents decided to move to Houston to be closer to me. My mother had mentioned an interest in bridge. I thought if we took a bridge class together, she could meet people her age and I could find out if I had any interest in the game. As I was approaching 60, I was looking for a challenging activity that would exercise my brain.

After the six week class with Tom Jahnke, I was hooked and met several like-minded people close to my age. With Crissy Clarke, a bridge class friend, we put together a group of ladies and hired Vinh Tran to give us lessons once a week. We worked with Vinh for several years. We also began taking bridge classes with Joyce Ryan. She taught us some funny rhymes to help us remember some bidding sequences and conventions. They worked!

The Road to Masterpoints

A few years later, during a class with Joyce, she encouraged us to participate in the Friday Future Life Master (FLM) event at the Houston Regional tournament. Crissy and I participated in the FLM event, where we achieved our first success by securing a win. The next day my friend Cherie Baer and I decided to try the Gold Rush game, which is a two- session event. We were overwhelmed in many ways. Fortunately, one of our initial opponents noticed our inexperience and provided us with valuable guidance regarding appropriate conduct at the table. At the end of the day, I had a tremendous headache. I guess I wasn’t used to concentrating that long or that intensely! But I took my headache as a positive sign that my brain was getting a lot of exercise! Then Covid-19 hit. Luckily, we have online bridge platforms and could continue to play.

I never dreamed I’d make Life Master. It seemed out of reach since I started bridge so late in life! My focus was to improve playing skills and engage in mental exercise. I didn’t pay any attention to how many masterpoints of each color were needed for Life Master or where to get them.

My true lucky break came in 2023 when our new club, the Bridge Academy of West Houston, started a mentor-mentee game once a month. I think Joe

Quinn could tell I had the work ethic he was looking for in a mentee and he casually asked if I knew of anyone who would like to be his mentee! I told him I’d be honored if he were my mentor.

Joe is a fabulous high level bridge player with a national title to his name. After our first game, Joe was reviewing the hands with me and I didn’t want to tell him that I had no idea what King 5th meant! I pondered, does it mean the King and 5 other cards or the King is one of the 5 cards? I thought he would fire me as his mentee! But Joe stuck with me and I made tremendous progress over the next two years reaching 300 masterpoints. Joe’s favorite question was “Did I tell you that Rome wasn’t built in a day?” Unfortunately for me, once a player hits 300 points they graduate from the Mentor-Mentee program. I still had so much to learn!

Around this time, I also joined a two over one bridge class given by Audley Karrasch. Her class was focused on a different subject each week. After the instruction we would play pre-arranged hands to see the convention in action. Classmate Phelps McKee and I won Gold Rush at the Houston regional that year which was very encouraging. The next year I took Audley’s play of the hand class. Both classes were well organized and effective.

In 2024 as I grew close to 500 masterpoints, I became aware of the various colors and categories of masterpoints needed – black, silver, red, gold, and platinum – each with its own rules and prestige. I realized I was severely lacking in silver points but had all the other colors necessary for Life Master. Something I thought out of reach, was within my grasp. Why didn’t I pay more attention to this earlier? I started a silver point quest traveling around to sectional tournaments. It was frustrating trying to earn the last five silver masterpoints needed. I’d go to Austin and come home with 1.6. Next tournament 0.6. Why was it suddenly so hard to win points? In July of 2025 I finally earned the last 2.21 silver masterpoints needed!

Partnerships

Becoming a Life Master is not a solo effort; bridge is a partnership game. Not all partnerships are successful. Playing style, attitude and skill levels need to match. I was lucky to begin playing with Ed Cosman and Linda Drake. We’ve had a lot of fun and success as they helped me reach Life Master.

In addition to Joe Quinn, I have played with pros Tony Haddad and Jimmy Breihan in some club

games and a few tournament events. Their insights, hand recaps and encouragement have been invaluable to me. I learn a lot playing with pros and wish I could do it more often. I especially like watching their play of the hand, if they are declarer.

Looking Forward

Achieving Life Master status is not the end of the road. There are many other award levels that I can work towards achieving. There is still so much to learn and I look forward to enjoying the next steps with my bridge friends.

Passing Forward

This year I won a seat on the Unit 174 Board of Directors. Fellow board member, Lesley Kellet, and I are co-chairs for October Two in One NLM Regional. We are working on developing some materials that will help newer players navigate tournament events, explain masterpoints, include links to instruction options and more detailed information about some of the topics mentioned. We are hoping to make tournament play less overwhelming for the newer players.

D16 + Club

Barry Jackson & Carol Diminnie 77.5%

San Angelo – San Angelo Bridge Club

Dotsy Miller & Jackie McElhaney 77%

Pittsburg – Pittsburg DBC

Dotsy Miller & Jackie McElhaney 76.5%

Pittsburg – Pittsburg DBC

Bill Gemas & Allen Wolf 75.8%

Conroe – Lone Star Bridge Club

John & Nancy Smalley 75.21%

Beaumont – Beaumont Bridge Studio

Ed Rasmussen & Wayne Outlaw 75%

Bob Neal & Larry Mayo 71.59%

Plano – Friendly Bridge Club

Pawel Hanus & Ari Sippola 71.5%

Dallas – Friendly Bridge Club

Jimmy Breihan & Wolf Schroeter 71.14%

Houston – Bridge Academy of West Houston

David Worrall & Karen Bell 70.5%

Pittsburg – Pittsburg DBC

LaRue Smith & Mattie Grant 70.24%

Beaumont – Beaumont Bridge Studio

Anju Sethi & Judy Whaling 70.07%

Orange – Orange Community Bridge League

Nancy Smalley & Martha Sigler 74.5%

Beaumont – Beaumont Bridge Studio

John Smalley & Maxine Moye 73.70%

Beaumont – Beaumont Bridge Studio

Gil Micheletti & Timucin Erkoc 73.69%

Houston – Bridge Academy of West Houston

Rick Barrett & Paul Nimmons 73.67%

Houston – Bridge Academy of West Houston

Shelley Early & Linda Scott 73.61%

Frisco – Frisco DBC

Marsha May & Nancy Purcell 72.92%

Wichita Falls – Bridge Club of Wichita Falls

Mark Leighton & Sanjay Santhanam 72.92%

Pittsburg – Pittsburg DBC

Sanjay Santhanam & Ann Haynes 72.5%

Pittsburg – Pittsburg DBC

David Durand & Al Crump Madison 72.5%

Houston – Bridge Academy of West Houston

Daisey Arnett & Martha Oliver 72.5%

Orange – Orange Community Bridge League

Mary Bartley & Nancy Green 71.88%

Tyler – Rose City DBC

Houston – Bridge Academy of West Houston

Pat Blandford & Barret Ward 70%

Houston – Bridge Academy of West Houston

Gerry McKim & Jerry Derby 70%

Plano – Friendly Bridge Club

Frances Price & Natalie Hallmark 70%

Beaumont – Beaumont Bridge Studio

Wayne Outlaw & Kris Cherry 70%

Orange – Orange Community Bridge League

Carol McGill & Robert McGill 70%

Orange – Orange Community Bridge League

Reporting D16 70% + Games

TheD16 70% + Club recognizes members who have scored 70% or higher scores in one of the district’s club masterpoint games that is open or non-restricted club game. 70% + Games must be reported to Scorecard. The club director, manager or any player may send an email with the subject: D16 70% + Club.

Be sure to include the club’s name and location. Games will be reported on a first come, first served.

La Unidad 173 te invita La Unidad 173 te invita

Torneo Seccional en CDMX Torneo Seccional en CDMX

4 al 6 Septiembre 2025 4 al 6 Septiembre 2025 Sede Sede

Centro Social de Industriales A .C . Centro Social de Industriales A .C .

Plinio 353, Polanco, Polanco II Sección Plinio 353, Polanco, Polanco II Sección

Jueves 4 de Septiembre

10:00 am Silver Rush parejas 0-199 (una sesión)

10:00 am Parejas abier to (una sesión)

4:30 pm Silver Rush parejas 0-199 (una sesión)

4:30 pm Parejas abier to (una sesión)

Viernes 5 de Septiembre

10:00 am Silver Rush parejas 0-199 (una sesión)

10:00 am Parejas abier to (una sesión)

4:30 pm Silver Rush parejas 0-199 (una sesión)

4:30 pm Parejas abier to (una sesión)

Sábado 6 de Septiembre

10:00 am Swiss teams estratif icados Segunda sesión (horario por anunciarse)

Parejas 0-199 (promedio)

Parejas abierto (promedio) Swiss teams (promedio)

Precio por sesión, por persona: $300

Chairman

Sarnow 5555099389

Member Profiles

Apple II DBC celebrated Julian Silverblatt’s Birthday Unit 174 Houston

By Brigitte Sandifer

Julian Silverblatt & Emerging Leaders Lab through Precinct4Forward

Apple II Club celebrated Julian Silverblatt’s Birthday – He was born 100 years ago on July 10, 1925!

I’m here to tell you about some of his life experiences. . .

After graduating from high school, Julian was drafted at the age of 18 in 1943. He wanted to study medicine, so the US Army sent him to medical school in Cincinnati. Fortunately Julian never saw action during WWII. He served as a medical officer during the Korean War.

After the Korean War, Julian received his degree in Internal Medicine and practiced for 46 years. During his last year of work, he was the Chief of Staff at Houston’s St. Luke’s Hospital.

After retirement, Julian began his volunteer work for various causes such as Food for Kids, Food Bank at Congregation Emanuel, the Blind and as Concierge at St. Luke’s.

His hobbies are traveling, growing roses, reading and playing bridge. His bridge playing began at a

young age when he was a junior in high school with his girlfriend and parents in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Julian was blessed in marriage. He was married for 45 years and had 4 children. Later he married June, who was also a bridge player. They were married for 29 years.

On July 18, Julian was honored at Apple II DBC. The young people in the picture are a group of "Emerging Leaders Lab through Precinct4Forward" who were attending a seminar at the community center. They were on a break as we were setting up our game and balloons. They asked if we would let them sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Why not? They had never seen anyone his age looking so young and spry. According to Julian, his secret to longevity is. . . "Watching others exercise and poor eating habits."

So now he is doing the things he truly enjoys!

Brigitte Sandifer is Unit 174 vice president and a past Apple II DBC manager.

King K. Culp, Cloverdale CA

Suzanne E. Birdwell, Wills Point

* Judy Bouska, Garland

Deborah J. D'Ambrogi, Dallas

* William B. Daniel III, The Woodlands

Mrs. Mary J. Glathar, Austin

Molly A. Hamilton, Dallas

* William B. Heim, Laredo

* Jack H. Johnson, League City

In Memoriam

Mick Koffend, Austin

Clair De Moulin, Ajijic

* Mrs. Adela E. Naftali, Mexico

* Mrs. Barbara K. Nelson, Dallas

* Raleigh S. Williamson, Houston

* Mrs. Ima Ruth Wood, Friendswood

*Life Master

Ima Ruth Wood 1929 | 2025

Ima Ruth Wood, 96 of Friendswood passed away June 19, 2025. She was born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida on April 8, 1929. Ima Ruth was preceded in death by her parents Emery and Iris Lindsey, her daughter Rebecca Wood and her son Raphael Angus Wood. She was married to Raphael Angus Wood for 25 years.

Ruth (as we called her) was one of the unsung heroes of the Clear Lake Bridge Club (CLBC). After the club started in 1998, some weren’t even sure it would survive. Thanks to the unselfish volunteers like Ruth, the club not only survived but prospered and grew into the largest club in both Unit 174 and District 16. Ruth was the main director when the club was first started, and she did it for free!

Ruth was decisive and fair without being overbearing. When called to a table, she always arrived with a smile and a willingness to help. Many of the CLBC’s A players were “reared” by Ruth. In later years she directed most of the I/N games. Her unthreatening manner and kindness kept those players coming back for more.

Ruth was still directing after she turned 90 and didn’t stop until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of CLBC.

As a player, Ruth was the model of deportment, never saying an unkind word to either her partner or her opponents. She had a very direct and decisive way of bidding and playing such that if she thought there was a game, she just “cut to the chase”.

Ruth told many that her mother lived to be 103 and she planned to outlive her mother. While she didn’t quite achieve that goal, she wasn’t too far off the mark.

CLBC owes Ruth a debt of gratitude and she is missed by all who knew her.

Thurs Sept 25th - Sat, Sept 27th

Stratified Swiss Teams, single session

10am, 2:30pm

Open Pairs, single session 10am, 2:30pm

299er Pairs, single session

10am, 2:30pm

Sun, Sept 28th

Stratiflighted A/X & BCD Swiss Teams

10am & TBD

$140 per 4 person team, includes lunch

Additional players, $6 each

Entry Fees: $14/session

Students and players with 0-5 Masterpoints pay

$7 per session Thursday-Saturday

($4 additional per session for unpaid & non-ACBL members)

STRATIFICATIONS

(Pair & team games based on average MPs)

Open Pairs & Stratified Swiss Teams: (Thursday – Saturday)

A: 3000+, B: 750-3000, C: 0-750

299er Pairs:

A: 200-300, B: 100-200, C: 0-100

No player may have over 300 MPs

Sunday Stratiflighted Swiss Teams:

A: 3000+, X: 0-3000

B: 1500-2500, C: 500-1500, D: 0-500

No player with over 2500 MPs can play in the BCD Swiss

All stratifications are at the director’s discretion

Basic Chart for 299ers

Basic+ Chart for BCD Swiss

Open Chart for all other events

Partnerships: Jamie Southerland: jamie3415@gmail.com,

By Evvie Gilbert

Contributors

Team USA1 has Three District 16 Members

Eddie Wold, Finn Kolesnik, Adam Kaplan & Adam Gossack

The8th seeded Kaplan Team competed in the United States Bridge Federation’s Open Bermuda Bowl Trials and came out on top with only four members which is unusual. Kaplan Team comprised of Adam Kaplan (Unit 155 – New York City, New York), Finn Kolesnik (Unit 207 – Austin), Eddie Wold (Unit 174 – Houston) and Adam Gossack (Unit 108 – Newton, Massachusetts) will be representing the USA in the 2025 World Championship this August. Before heading to Herning, Denmark, three members were added to the team: Kevin Bathurst (Unit 128 –Palm Beach Gardens, Florida), John Hurd (Unit 155 – New York City, New York) and Non-Playing Captain Bob Morris (Unit 174 – Houston)

By Nancy Connors

Dinner with Audrey & David

On a recent trip to Toronto my husband Tom and I had the pleasure of having dinner with Audrey Grant and her husband David Lindop. How this came about was due to my husband emailing Audrey several years ago after reading one of her bridge books. He was astounded when she responded by calling him! In fact , he was so surprised by the call that he thought someone was pulling a prank. He said, “Who is this?” Audrey stated her name for the second time. Tom then said, “Oh, come on, who is this REALLY?”

We covered a myriad of topics outside of bridge, including an event that made the news over 30 years ago. Audrey was playing bridge in at her relatively new Toronto Bridge Club when a crazed man darted in. He grabbed Audrey and held a knife to her throat. The shocked participants ran out of the room (where Dave quipped that they continued to discuss their bridge hands)! Audrey was held hostage for three hours until the Toronto SWAT team arrived on the scene, captured the assailant, and transferred him to Montreal where there was an arrest warrant pending. Despite wanting to keep the incident quiet, Audrey said she made the front page of the Toronto paper!

Another wild story that Audrey described was meeting the late comedian Flip Wilson and having quite a crazy ongoing relationship with him. He even came to Toronto to speak at her son's graduation and none of the graduates had any idea who he was or why he was the speaker!

After establishing that it truly was Audrey calling from Toronto, they went on to discuss Tom’s email to her. Fast forward a few years. We booked a Lake Superior cruise for this summer, and it was to begin with an overnight stay in Toronto on June 30. Tom contacted Audrey by email again and invited her and her husband to dinner. The result was a wonderful two-hour dinner with Audrey and Dave.

Knife at her Throat

In July of 1981, roughly 10 months after opening her Toronto Bridge Club a man came to the club to beg for a cup of coffee. Audrey Grant’s club was struggling to survive with only about 12 regular members. So, here was Audrey sitting in her club not moving a muscle while that man held a knife at her throat.

The assailant ordered everyone in the club to leave. Audrey was held for three hours while the local police and SWAT diffused the issue. There was an arrest

We learned that Audrey is a member of the Bridge Hall of Fame in both the U.S. and Canada. She has more than 56,000 followers on Instagram. She continues to make some appearances, add to her website, and offer online tips. She described a new posted bridge lesson narrated by her and Dave. You can access “5 Commonly Made Mistakes” by locating Audrey’s Better Bridge website

warrant pending for the man in Montreal where he was eventually taken.

According to an article in the Toronto Star, Audrey was pretty blasé about the event. Their coverage says that “She [Audrey] was more terror-stricken during the first few months of the club’s existence… than she was during her life-and-death ordeal.”

She was concerned that news coverage of the incident would further diminish the few who regularly attended. It did just the opposite.

Nancy Connors is a member and retiring reporter for the McKinney Duplicate Club in Plano.

David Lindop & Audrey Grant

Nancy & Tom Connors

San Antonio TEXAS

Nearby Hotel

Playing Site

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Cost $14 per person per session

10:00 am Stratified Pairs

3:00 pm Stratified Teams

10:00 am & 3:00 pm 499er Stratified Pairs

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Cost $14 per person per session

10:00 am & 3:00 pm Stratified Pairs

10:00 am & 3:00 pm 499er Stratified Pairs

1 block away: Fairfield Inn & Suites-North/Stone Oak On exit ramp of N Loop 1604 E 80 Trailcrest St *** (210) 491-9595

St. Thomas Episcopal Church 1416 North Loop 1604 East San Antonio, TX

Friday, October 17, 2025

Cost $14 per person per session

10:00 am & 3:00 pm Stratified Pairs 10:00 am & 3:00 pm 499er Stratified Pairs

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Cost $144 per team

10:00 am & TBA Stratified Swiss Teams Includes Meal served between session

499er Game (3 Table Minimum)

Stratifications: A: 2500+ B: 0-2500 C: 0-750 All Events Average MP’s Strats may be changed at the discretion of the DIC

$7 Discount for Students

Cashless Entry

$4 additional per session for unpaid/lapsed ACBL members

Non-members: must sign up for a FREE 120-Day Guest Membership-go to acbl.org/membership

Guest Speaker on Friday 2:30 pm

Tournament Chair: Karen Fillis (210) 884-5613 & Susan Hernandez (210) 710-8240

Partnership Chair: Jo Neesvig (210) 508-1448 josephineneesvig@aol.com & Rebecca Evans (507) 358-9044 SanAntonio_750_Bridge@outlook.com

Director in Charge: Melody Euler, melody.euler@acbl.org

Unit 172 - San Antonio

By Ellen Hessel

Assummer draws to a close, it’s worth mentioning that it has been quite a bit cooler here in Unit 172 than last year with way fewer days in the 100’s. That said, San Antonio is still in a drought with loads of water restrictions. However, despite the weather and the water, we had a fun filled 4th of July tournament including hot dogs and all the fixins’ on Independence Day.

Rosemary Kelley and Beth Gale along with their team of tireless volunteers treated us royally. It’s truly amazing how much planning and re-planning goes into a successful regional tournament. Kudos to all who gave of their time and expertise to help it all run smoothly. It’s not too early to think about how you might get involved with our 2027 Regional. There’s always room for more helping hands and they are most welcome!

Our next sectional tournament is in New Braunfels September 4-7, with their legendary hospitality. We have a unit game coming up on Saturday September 20 at St. Thomas followed by our Diane Olson Election Sectional October 15-18 also at St. Thomas Church. Hope to see you at the table at some of these events!

Unit 174 - Houston

By Sarah Springer

Message from Unit 174 President

Betty Starzec

October 17-19 Arabia Shriners will host our Two Tournaments in One Sectional and I/N Regional. Brigitte Sandifer and Judi Whaling are the chairs. Come on down for a great time! Make sure to see the flyer for details.

Betty Starzec

The flyer for the 2026 Barbara Phillips Lone Star Regional has been out for almost two months. Marsha Bernstein is once again handling our event naming initiatives. If you want to honor or remember anyone, please contact Marsha (marshabernstein@att.net). Check out the flyer to see some new events on the schedule. Please also note that we are

providing labels again, but you must order them prior to the tournament. They will be ready for pickup on Monday morning. You can order them from Susan Banks-Johnson

It is already time to start looking for potential new board members. Clif Rice is heading the Nominating Committee. Please let Clif know if you are interested in joining the team!

See you at the tables!

Future

Life Masters

TheFuture Life Masters (FLM) of Unit 174 is a board sponsored program with the mission to support and develop the newest players (0-99 masterpoints) in Greater Houston Bridge. FLM is a resource center featuring information about classes, games and tournaments with a freestanding website. FLM Weekend F2F Games

49er Game

Play in Person Every Sunday Afternoon Game time: 1:30 p.m.

Bridge Club of Houston 4876 Louetta, Spring 77388

$5.00

99er Game

Play in Person Every Saturday Afternoon Game time: 1:00 p.m.

Clear Lake Bridge Club 16614 Sea Lark Road 77062

$6.00

99er Game

Play in Person Every Thursday Morning Game time: 10:30 a.m.

Bridge Academy of West Houston 10510 Harwin (Shriners) 77036

$7.00

All Clubs Welcome Singletons! EVERYONE PLAYS!

News from Unit 174 Clubs

Apple Duplicate Bridge Clubs

Weekly Game Schedule

Open games are held on Monday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the Tracy Gee Community Center, 3598 Westcenter.

If you missed it, please make sure to read about Julian Silverblatt in this issue.

Bridge Academy of West Houston

The Longest Day Recap

Bridge Academy of West Houston club raised over $11,277 for the Alzheimer's Association as part of ACBL's 2025 Longest Day Fundraiser. Raffle tickets were sold for a chance to win 10 free plays.

An auction was held thanks to the generosity of our top players and teaching pros, who donated their services to support the effort. We are deeply grateful to Lauri Laufman for her outstanding leadership in spearheading The Longest Day effort, and we sincerely appreciate the dedication of the entire team that supported her.

On Wednesday, July 9th, Chloe Ella Fackenthall and Linda Drake hosted a very special occasion – Julain Silverblatts 100th birthday! Friends, fellow bridge players, and admirers gathered to pay tribute to Julian’s remarkable milestone and enduring presence in our community. Julian, sharp as ever, graciously greeted guests and enjoyed the outpouring of affection. It was a truly memorable event that honored not only a century of life but also Julian’s lasting impact on all who know him.

Judi Whaling's Life Master Party

On Wednesday, July 16th, a celebration was held in honor of Judi Whaling’s earning the rank of Life Master. A former ice dancing champion, Judi – alongside her partner Kent Weigle – represented the United States in the 1976 Olympics, finishing 15th, and went on to win the U.S. National Championship in 1977.

Judi has since channeled her competitive drive into the game of duplicate bridge. She credits her mentor, Joe Quinn, for helping her learn the intricacies of the game, and her favorite partners, Linda Drake and Ed Cosman for playing a key role in helping her reach her goal.

Judi says, “It only took me one month playing with my mentor, Joe Quinn, before I summoned the courage to ask, What does K fifth mean?"

Judi’s party was a joyful occasion, filled with laughter, friendship, and warm congratulations. She was deeply grateful for the presence and support of her many friends.

Julian Silverblatt's 100th Birthday Party

Team Leader, Lauri Laufman (center) & Team The Longest Day was held on Thursday, June 19.

Julian Silverblatt 100th Birthday Party

In the picture, Judi looks up as Lesley Kellet is about to pop the F in FLM, changing Judi from Future Life Master to Life Master. Her mentor, Joe Quinn, looks on as the balloon is popped.

Mentor/Mentee

Mentor/Mentee games are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. The next games are scheduled for Tuesday, September 2 and October 7. If you have not yet signed up, you can register online by clicking here. Mentees must have fewer than 300 masterpoints.

Eight is Enough Swiss Teams

The Eight is Enough Swiss Teams are held once a month on Sundays at 1:30 p.m. The upcoming games are September 21 and October 26.

Weekly Game Schedule

The Bridge Academy of West Houston hosts games at 10:30 a.m. at the Arabia Shriners. Note: The schedule changes in September. The 99er pairs moved from Tuesday to Thursday.

• Tuesdays: Open pairs game. On the first Tuesday of each month, a mentor/mentee pairs game is also held.

• Wednesdays: Open and 0–299er pairs games.

• Thursdays: Open and 0–99er pairs games.

Bridge Club of Houston

Bridge Lessons

• Tuesday Tidbits

Tuesday Tidbits – Build a solid foundation with Susan Banks-Johnson, Bronze Life Master and

ACBL Teacher. Enjoy a FREE lesson for all from 9:30-10:10 a.m. A game follows at 10:30 a.m.

Email Susan for more information.

• Beginner Bridge & Other Classes

Make sure to check out the website to find their schedules.

Practice for I/N Players

FLM 0-49 Game

The FLM 0-49 Game is on Sundays at 1:30 p.m. Please see the FLM section of the Unit 174 report for more details. For questions, you may contact via email or call BridgewithCarol@gmail.com or call 936-6508180.

Mentor/Mentee F2F

Mentor/Mentee games are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 10:30 a.m. To be matched with a mentor for the second Tuesday game, contact Judy Cupps by email at judy_n_al@yahoo.com or by phone at 713 320-5592. For the fourth Tuesday game, phone/text Bob Zeigler at 713 829-6928.

Online Mentor/Mentee Games

Online Mentor/Mentee games are held the first and third Mondays at 7:00 p.m. (The Mentee should invite and pay for the mentor). Contact Mike Linkins at mlinkins@swbell.net if you have any questions.

Online 0-20 Game

The Online 0-20 games are held the second Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m. (usually).

Saturday F2F 299er Game

Saturday F2F 299er game is held every weekend. To find a partner or to register please contact Kas Rangan at kas.rangan@gmail.com or call at 539-210-1333.

5th Tuesday 0-1000 F2F Game

Make sure to check the BCOH website for more information.

Game Schedule Recap

F2F Open Pairs

Mondays: 10:30 a.m.

1st and 5th Tuesdays: 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday & Fridays: 10:30 a.m.

Saturdays: 12:00 p.m. (noon)

F2F Swiss Teams

3rd Tuesday: 10:30 a.m.

Online - Choose Houston on BBO Thursdays: 7:00 p.m.

See the SE Carolina Club of Clubs for more information.

You can read more about all of our games at the BCOH website.

September 1

Labor Day Party. Hot Dogs at noon. Please bring sides.

September 1-3, 22, 29 International Fund

September 5, 7-10 Club Championship

September 6 Bill Daniel Celebration of Life – Please wear purple. Red Hot Challenge game at 10:45 a.m. Food at noon.

September 11-13 449er Tournament

September 12-13 Stardust Gold Game

September 14 GNT 8 is Enough Teams Game at 1:30 p.m.

September 15-21 District STaC Week.

September 13 Gold Life Master party for Kas Rangan! Pizza will be served at 11:15 a.m. Open and 299e pairs games begin at 12 noon Please bring your favorite salad! The game will be a Unit Club Championship with extra points! Please make reservations on the website.

September 19 Faye Vincent’s Pizza Friday

September 24-27, 30 Club Championship

September 26 $5 Member Game

September 30 1,000 Limited Game

October 6-12 Club Appreciation

October 17-19 Club is closed for the Unit 174 Open Sectional & NLM Regional

October 20-26 Club Appreciation & District STaC

October 25 Twenty Table Saturday

October 31 Halloween Costume Party

Jan Hendrix Life Master Party

Good Times with Good Friends

I had the pleasure of playing with Carolyn Wedel at the Saturday game on August 2. The club had a festive atmosphere with a taco lunch to celebrate the Gold Life Master achievement of Marsha Boyer. The food was plentiful and delicious and the attendance was fabulous. I spoke with many players who drive north from Houston on a regular basis to enjoy the Saturday games at BCOH.

Everyone from BCOH was welcoming and the competition was great. The room was full of avid bridge players and there was an open game as well as a point limited game. A good time was had by all. Anyone looking for a weekend game is welcome to join the great folks at BCOH on Saturdays. (And I’m sure the warm welcome will extend to their weekday games as well!)

Check the BCOH Website for more including details, potlucks and points each week.

4th of July & Don Bowen's 100th Birthday Party

Charlie Otto Life Master & Retirement Party

Will Shepherd Life Master Party

Marsha Boyer Gold Life Master Party

Clear Lake Bridge Club

CLBC is located at 16614 Sea Lark, Houston 77062. We close for Unit 174 tournaments, Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can reach us at 281-480-1911.

Game Fees

Our game fees are $6.00 for members ($7.00 for guests). If you are a frequent guest, it is probably a good idea to become a member because our annual dues are only $25.00/year.

Weekly Game Schedule

Games are held every day of the week. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before game time.

Open games are held Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m., and Thursday and Saturday afternoons at 1:00 p.m.

I/N games are offered four days per week as follows:

0-99 games are on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

0-299 games are on Monday and Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.

0-749 games are on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. and Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

Swiss Teams games are on Sunday afternoons at 1:00 p.m.

If you are interested in playing in the teams games, please register by calling the club or signing up in person at least one day prior to the game so that the director can set up the game on time. Chuck Ensor will assist anyone to organize a team for any teams game. You can call Chuck at (713) 501-0282 or email him at cwensor@sbcglobal.net

Eight is Enough Teams games are usually held on the second Sunday each month, unless otherwise stipulated. Check the CLBC website for accurate calendar information.

The Swiss Teams stratifications are:

Level 1 – 0-749 masterpoints (1)

Level 2 – 750-1999 masterpoints (2)

Level 3 – 2000+ masterpoints (3)

Example: A team with one Level 3, two Level 2 and one Level 1 players total is 8 (3+2+2+1). The requirement is that the team’s total must be less than or equal to 8.

Mentor/Mentee (M/M) Open games are the third Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. each month. Mentees must be Non-Life Masters with less than 500 masterpoints. The game is held after the morning

Open game. Sandwiches are served for lunch between the games. Reservations must be made no later than noon on the Monday prior to the game. Mentees pay the game fee for both the M/M. For Information please visit mentor-mentee program or contact Susan L. Hanna, M/M coordinator, at s.l.hanna@gmail.com

Bridge Labs (Supervised Play)

Bridge Labs are Sundays and Tuesdays from 2:005:00 p.m. The table fee is $8.00. Please check out the website for new classes offered in 2025.

Lake Conroe Duplicate Bridge Club

Lake Conroe Duplicate Bridge Club is a very welcoming and friendly club. We have players from all levels, so players new to duplicate will feel comfortable; and seasoned players will find a challenge.

We would like to invite you and your bridge friends to join us every Friday. We meet at the Restoration Church, 107 Fish Creek Thoroughfare, Montgomery.

When you enter the parking lot, drive around to the back of the property to the parking lot of the newer Worship Center and the Children's Church building. We currently have our games in the Children's Church building lobby. It is an easier access with no steps or ramps.

We begin playing at 10:30 am. The game fee is $5.00. We always offer snacks, sweet and savory, and coffee and iced tea. We will take a break midday, so please bring your lunch. There is a refrigerator, ice maker, and a microwave for your use if needed.

If you need a partner for our Friday game, please contact Carol Meade at 281-543-4541 or email her at meadecm@icloud.com, and she will do her best to find you a partner.

September Schedule

• September 5 - International Fund & Terry Sucher Bridge Lesson at 9:30 a.m.

• September 12 - International Fund & September Birthdays Celebration Cake

• September 19 - STaC D16

• September 26 - Club Championship & Pizza Lunch

Bridge Lessons

Terry Sucher, one of our outstanding players, is offering lessons about current bridge conventions. His first lesson in August covering Take Out Doubles. It

was very well attended. The next lesson will be September 5th about Negative Doubles.

Everyone is welcome to join these classes which begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. There is no need to sign up ahead of time.

Lone Star Bridge Club

Lone Star Bridge Club holds games at St. Paul Methodist Church at 1100 West Semands Street, Conroe.

Open games are held on Mondays at 11:45 a.m. and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and occasionally, there are special games on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Free Lesson

Diamond Life Master Jeff Kroll gives a free lesson the first Monday of every month at 11:00 a.m.

Jeff’s September’s lesson has been moved to the third Monday (September 15) due to the Labor Day celebration at the club.

The class includes:

• When to take your trick on defense.

• When to settle for down 1.

• Card combinations declarer should know.

• Misdirection.

• The 30-point deck.

Birthdays/Pizza

Birthdays are celebrated the first Monday of each month. Free pizza lunch is provided on the second Thursday of each month.

September Game Schedule & Events

September 1

September 4

September 8

Club Championship Game. Pot Luck Lunch for Labor Day & September Birthdays

Celebrated

Club Championship Game

International Fund Game

September 11 International Fund Game & Free Pizza Lunch

September 15

Jeff Kroll’s Free Lesson & District 16 STaC Game

September 16 District 16 STaC Game

September 18 District 16 STaC Game

September 22 Club Championship Game

September 25 Club Championship Game

September 29 International Fund Game

October Game Schedule & Events

October 2

Charity Club Championship

Game

October 6 Jeff Kroll’s Free Lesson, Club Appreciation Game & October Birthday Celebrated

October 9 Club Appreciation Game & Free Pizza Lunch

October 13 Charity Club Championship

October 16 Club Masterpoint Game

October 20 District 16 STaC Game

October 21 District 16 STaC Game

October 23 District 16 STaC Game

October 27 Club Appreciation Game

October 30 Club Appreciation Game & Halloween Party Game Fee is $5.00.

For more information visit our website or contact Club Manager Mary McDonald 281-964-7212.

Sugarland Bridge Club

Games are every Tuesday beginning at 9:30 at Lago Mariscos Mexican Seafood Restaurant, 2329 Hwy 6, Sugar Land. If you have questions about the games, you can contact Mariah Stopper at 713-817-6899 or email her. Players are invited to stay for lunch at the restaurant following the game.

GetUnit 176 - Dallas

By Bill Driscoll

Dallas Labor Day Regional August 27-September 1

your partners and teammates lined up for our upcoming Dallas Labor Day Regional at the Marriott Courtyard, Allen, 210 E Stacy Road Allen 75002.

Click here to make room reservations.

You can read the tournament details.

Unit Game Recaps

June 15 Unit Game Results

The June Unit Game had 15.5 tables.

Open Pairs Section winners were:

James Thurtell & John Schwartz (N/S Strat A)

Erica Walker & Mary Chaffin (E/W Strats A&B)

Jacqueline Brown & Philip Brown (N/S Strat B)

Click here for the June Unit Game results.

July 13 Unit Game Results

The Open Pairs Unit Game had 20 tables. Open

Pairs Section winners were:

James Thurtell & James Bauer (N/S Strat A)

Bob Friz & John Schwartz (E/W Strat A)

Kashi Singh & Jeff Karpeles (N/S Strat B)

Cheryl Brunson & Janet Borg (E/W Strat B)

Janet Meyer & Gail Wingfield (N/S Strat C)

Darlene Campbell & Marcia Messinger (E/W Strat C)

The 499er Pairs Unit Game had 5 tables. The 499er winners were:

Liz Williams & Barbara Pittenger (N/S Strat A)

Meeta Sawla & Kathryn Austin (E/W Strats A and B)

You can see the Unit's July Open Game results here. Click here for the July 499er Unit Game results.

August 8/10 Unit Game Results

The Open Pairs Unit Game had 17 Tables; Section winners were:

Gerry McKim & Mike Hout (N/S Strat A)

Scott Nason & Tomi Storey (E/W Strat A)

Elaine Wood & Marilyn Florin (N/S Strat B)

Dale Remmers & Kashi Singh (E/W Strat B)

Debrah Chockley & Michael Chockley (N/S Strat C)

Janet Meyer & Gail Wingfield (E/W Start C)

The 499er Pairs had 5 tables; Section winners were: Bonnie Keene and Stephanie Strom (N/S Strats A & B)

Jose Portela & Sarah Warnecke (E/W Strats A, B, &C)

Jenny McCall & Mike Mansfield (N/S Strat C)

For the August Open Unit Game results, click here. Click here for the August 499er Unit Game Results.

The Longest Day Donations

Local club games to support Alzheimer’s Association collected over $7500 in donations.

Valley View BC: $6297

Friendly BC: $1362.

Unit 176 Mentor/Mentee Program

This program provides new and advancing (<750 MPs) players with an opportunity to improve their game by pairing with a Mentor (>750 MPs). M/M

pairs agree to play as partners in sanctioned games (either F2F or online) at least twice a month. More details and a sign-up link are available on the Unit 176 Website. We need more mentors so please consider signing up.

U p c o m i n g E v e n t s

2025 Tournaments

August 26-31, Labor Day Regional, Courtyard by Marriott, Allen

October 29-November 1, Fall Sectional, Lovers Lane United Methodist Church

Remaining 2025 Unit Games

September 7, October 5, November 16 and December 14 (Unit Holiday Party)

All unit games are held at King of Glory Lutheran Church on Sundays starting at 12:30 p.m.

The unit games are hosted by Friendly Bridge Club or Valley View Bridge Club on an alternating basis.

Unit 183 - Fort Western

By John Coe Robbins

New Board Elections Unit

183 will elect new members of the board of directors at the upcoming Fort Western Sectional, which will be held at the Fort Worth Bridge Studio October 16-18. Clubs will make several early voting methods available but the final day of voting will be October 18.

Denton Fall Local Sectional

The Denton club will hold its Fall Local Sectional October second through fourth at the Denton Bridge Studio. Players can pre-register by entering their name and partner’s name to dentonbridgestudio@gmail.com Make sure to check out the flyer details in this issue.

Arlington Closed/Granbury Open

The Arlington Duplicate Bridge Club will close for the Labor Day Regional in Allen, but the Granbury club will host a game on Labor Day.

Welcome Aboard

It’s great to be welcoming new members again this month. New players in Unit 183 include Johnny Conner, Laura Huehn, David Plazak and Rosalie Reeder, along with transfers L. Strautman and Lindsey Jones.

continued on 40

Sabine Neches

Local Sectional

October 9 - 2025 11

Local Director Ed Rasmussen

Tournament Location

Schedule of Events

Beaumont Bridge Studio 950 North Street, Beaumont, TX 77701

409-838-2447

Hotels

MCM Eleganté Hotel and Convention Center I10S, Beaumont 77705 2355 (409) 842 - 3600

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel

3755 Ih-10S, Beaumont, TX, 77705, (409)842-5646

Entry Fees

Sessions: $12 per person per session Note: $16 per session for unpaid ACBL member

Stratification and Awards

Open: A (2000+) B (750-2000) C (0-750)

499 (300 er: A -500) B (100-300) C (0-100)

**This is a Zero-Tolerance & No-Fragrance Tournament. **

Thursday, October 9 th

Stratified Open Pairs Single sessions ( 9:30a & 1:30p )

Stratified 499er Pairs (Single sessions 9:30a & 1:30p )

Friday, October 10 th

Stratified Open Pairs (Single sessions 9:30a & 1:30p )

Stratified 499er Pairs (Single sessions) 9:30a & 1:30p

Saturday, October 11 th

Stratified Open Pairs (Single sessions) 9:30a & 1:30p

Stratified 499er Pairs (Single sessions) 9:30a & 1:30p

Tournament Chairs

Valerie Townley-Smith 409-504-6374 valts@att.net

Susan Pennington 409-670-7546 spennington@gt.rr.com

Partnership Chair

Linda Briggs 409-960-2927 richardlindabriggs@gmail.com

Unit 201 - Sabine Neches

By Linda Briggs

The Longest Day

The Longest Day has been supported by Unit 201 for 12 years, totaling $70, 245. Chaired by Linda Briggs, this year’s events, June 18 in Beaumont and June 20 in Orange, brought in $1,950. Linda’s daughter–in–law, Shanna Briggs, head of the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Texas, spoke to the group about the disease and the resources available to help victims and caregivers impacted.

Promoting the Game

Members, Kris Cherry, Val Townley–Smith, Linda Briggs and Susan Pennington played bridge July 24 to promote the game and the club to Beaumont Heritage Society members at the Chambers Museum.

Sue Pennington's Life Master Party

Susan Pennington’s Life Master party, August 9, was set as a fun surfing– Hawaiian theme. Players enjoyed the food, games, and picture – taking in front of a beach background.

Pennington's Life Master Party

Sabine Local Sectional

Plans are underway for the Sabine Local Sectional Tournament, October 9–11. Val Townley–Smith and Susan Pennington are co–chairs, and partnerships chaired by Linda Briggs. More information is available on the website. You can also find the flyer in this issue. Check out the D16 70%+ Club to see our members who scored 70%+ games since our last report.

ThisUnit 204 - Fort Concho

By Troy Harvey

Hot Summer, Hot Wins in the Tall City

summer heat has been intense – but our players have been even hotter. There is lots of winning and lots of information to get to about the Fort Concho club members. For starters, 19 of our members attended the Midland’s Tall City Tournament in the first part of June. That’s nearly half of our active members – and they didn’t just show up they came ready to win. For example, with about the same number of members from our club we tallied 104.48 masterpoints this year versus 61.98 last year. That’s a 69% jump from last year. Carl McGill, and his partner Joe Smith of Abilene had an overall win at the tournament. This duo crushed the competition with a 73.4% game with 13 tables!

Shauna Brigge & Linda Briggs

Sue

Joe Smith (Abilene) & Carl McGill Overall win with 73.4% finish

In her very first tournament game, Prissy Griffis walked away with a 1st place finish – talk about a grand entrance She and her partner, Troy Harvey, had a 63.49% game in the 199’s pairs. Prissy is already preparing for next year's tournament.

Below is group shot of the club members who attended the tournament wearing club polo shirts with the ACBL 100-year anniversary logo.

After Game Party

Troy Harvey’s sister of Midland, Kyan Hendry, hosted an After-Game Party!

Here is a picture of Prissy Griffis and Judy Farmer discussing the tournament and strategizing for the Swiss Teams the next day.

Our club sends a big thank you to the Midland club for hosting a great event.

Spotlight and Standout performances

Lets’ continue about winning with a focus on members scoring 70% and up during our club games since May.

John Osborne and Terri Tedford had a 70.41% with 7 tables. (Left)

Barry Jackson and Carol Diminnie had a 77.5% with 7 tables. (Right) According to the “Common Game” report placed 1st out of 1,918 pairs!

Neal Perlman and Carl McGill had a 71.96% with 9 tables. (Left) Mary Jane McCord and Marvin Simpson had a 70.41% with 7 tables. (Right)

Congratulations to these pairs on great game play! Milestones

It is noteworthy that recently during one of Julie Moormon's - 2025 summer IMG games, Sandra Love and her partner, Joy Foster, placed 1st N/S. This finish earned Sandra her first gold masterpoint! We are super happy for her and certain there are many more to come.

Dale Harris and Nancy Greer were the 1st E/W. Unit Leadership Changes

The Fort Concho club has recently elected three new members to the board and will miss the leadership from the outgoing members Joy Foster (president), Barbara Wright (secretary) and Brenda Chapman. These are some big shoes to fill. Below is picture of the new board members. Not pictured is Vice President Fran Grogan.

Please reach out to any board member with suggestions to improve our unit.

Joy Foster & Sandra Love

Club Manager Suzanne Dorris, Secretary Janis Dismukes, Board Member John Osborne, President Troy Harvey, Board Members Charlotte Sisco & Ingrid “Riki” Rich

Looking ahead

Looking to the future, Madame Director Marifrances Watson is planning to have a Labor Day Celebration prior to her game and is looking for volunteers to help with the organization.

Other exciting news is that Joy Foster is in the throes of planning a San Angelo Tournament in 2026. She, John Osborne and Neal Perlman are spearheading the planning committee, so please reach out them to help with this event. It has been several years since we hosted a tournament and with the help and support of our newer members it will be a success. More information to come as it develops.

Unit 209 - Great Permian Basin

By Ann Parish Recovery Time

We are happy to see Marlene Blumentritt, one of our directors, back in the bridge house after surgery. We appreciate the directors who assumed responsibilities during Marlene's absence: Kay Sewell, Shirley Davenport, Juanice Welsh and Belle Harris.

We are also hoping for a speedy recovery for Mark Beckstrom, our club president, after his surgery.

Party Time

We had a late great Fourth of July hotdog party on July 10th. I forgot to take pictures, but we had lots of red, white, and blue decorations and outfits! The N/S winners were Paul Newbury and Charlie Grimes. E/W winners (A, B, and C) were two of our novices, Mark Knox and Mary Truex.

Winning Time

Our players are gaining skills and points. We have two new sectional masters, Linda Leps and Phil Middleton. We also have a new regional master, Scott Johnson; a new NABC master, Mark Beckstrom; and a new advanced NABC Master, Travis Woodward. Congratulations to all!

Players of the Month

Players of the Month are Dorothy Blair and Dorothy Baird.

Dorothy Blair

Dorothy Blair

September Player of the Month

Family: I have two children, six grandchildren, and two adorable two-year-old great-granddaughters that are the only entertainment anyone needs!

Career/job: Teaching grades K-3 was my career for 38 delightful years with the last 10 years teaching firstgrade Reading Recovery.

Non-bridge activities: When not playing bridge, I love to quilt, do counted cross stitch, give private badly-played concerts on my little keyboard (to and for myself only!), and volunteer at my church grading and sending out Bible correspondence courses to prisoners in Texas and as far away as Maryland. For my exercise, I daily walk the neighborhood.

How I learned bridge: My mama taught me and my husband-to-be to play while we were in high school. I didn’t learn about duplicate bridge until about 12 years ago when I decided to take a refresher bridge course offered at Midland College and didn’t realize it was duplicate bridge until those bidding boxes were on the four corners of the table and I was thinking “What have I gotten myself in to?! But I have made new friends and now play… passably."

Dorothy Baird

Dorothy Baird

October Player of the Month

Family: After moving to Abilene, I met a loan officer at a bank; we dated two years before getting married. Together, we shared five children for he was enamored with the thought of coaching my two young sons in sports; after all, he was an avid athlete after playing college football before being drafted into the NFL for a short time and then joining the army. Those two young sons both grew up to play for the NFL, and one has a SuperBowl ring! In our life together, we also loved hunting dogs and a little Schnauzer named Trixie, my fur baby.

Career/job: After going back and forth to college my entire adult life, I finally finished my teaching degree and got a job teaching ninth-grade literature in Midland ISD. Before this, I had worked in a tax office updating tax files, worked as a bookkeeper in a bank, worked in an office that records acreages of crops planted by farmers, and worked in various oil and gas reporting firms. Since I entered teaching at a later age, I needed to retire after seventeen years; as a result, we bought three more years, so that I could retire with a total of twenty years of teaching.

Non-bridge activities: Today, outside of my bridge game, I attend church, help with jail mail from inmates across the state as they take Bible study lessons, visit my sons living in Houston with their families, and love the coast when my daughter and I can arrange such a visit. I still have a yearning for art lessons because it's been many years since I've studied painting and drawing.

How I learned bridge: After retiring, my aim to play bridge came alive again when I saw that Midland College offered lessons, so I signed up. Our very own Belle Harris was the excellent instructor and got me hooked on duplicate bridge. I always liked the challenge of this remarkable game because it steadies the mind and offers a competitive sense to strive for game success. I highly recommend the game to everyone who needs a hobby and a way to meet new people in a community. God bless our bridge players.

Ending Summer

As the Permian Basin Club ends the hot Texas summer, we wish our players good health and good bridge!

Unit 225 - East Texas

By Gary Britt Club News

Pittsburg DBC

From Linda Harrison, PDBC Director

The Longest Day-Small Town and Small Club Success

Pittsburg DBC (PDBC) is small but mighty! PDBC is much like Pittsburg, the small East Texas town of 4,000. The club consists of about 30 players from Pittsburg and many surrounding towns. This is PDBC’s fourth year to participate in The Longest Day. It certainly is a worthy fundraiser that allows our community of bridge players to unite around a cause important to us all – brain health.

The players were on board for the fourth year to participate in The Longest Day. Their team efforts helped raise $3,000, far exceeding their $1,500 goal this year by:

• Playing bridge and wearing purple on June 17th and 20th with the $10.00 table fees going to Alzheimer’s

• Contributing and purchasing items for the Silent Auction

• Asking for items from local merchants for nice silent auction items again this year

• Requesting cash donations from players and PDBC friends.

Pittsburg DBC’s Alzheimer fundraiser project was a big success again this year! Our $3,000 contribution helps support much-needed programs, like research into early detection for Alzheimer’s, patient care, and support for caregivers.

Alzheimer's Fundraiser Participants

Welcomes Visiting Players

On August 1 it was terrific having Curtis Bourland bring his partner Sarah Wages and her two kids, Rookie (age 12) and Ranger; (age 13) from Texarkana! Rookie and Ranger are both ACBL members and have been taught bridge for the past year by their mother. It was a pleasure to have these young players join us in Pittsburg.

Basic Bridge Class

Congratulations to the students who graduated Thursday, July 31 Basic Duplicate Bridge eight-week class taught by Jo Britt and Linda Harrison in Pittsburg!

We had a capping celebration with a variety of hats and polished it off with refreshments by the Britts!

The club is also offering free two-hour Learning Table Sessions provided by Jo Britt, Gary Britt and Linda Harrison.

Students: Phyllis Yonavick, John Ormbsy, and Luanne Taylor Student Helpers: Frank Morton, Linda Morton (np), Angie Dickinson Instructors: Jo Britt and Linda Harrison

Nacogdoches DBC

From Gay Roach Aloha Party for Mark Reynolds

On August 8th, the Nacogdoches Duplicate Bridge Club gathered to honor a valued member and dear friend, Mark Reynolds, with a cheerful Aloha party. Mark, who has been a diligent student of the game for the past three years, achieved a significant milestone this February when he qualified as a director.

Mark is truly one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever hope to meet – kind, patient, and always ready with a smile. For me personally, his departure is bittersweet. Since the passing of my longtime partner, Jack Yarbrough, Mark has been my steadfast partner at the bridge table.

His recent achievement of earning his director’s certification brought me great joy, as it meant he could help share the responsibility of running our games. Sadly, with Mark’s departure, our club will be left once again with just one director – and one less skilled, friendly player at the tables. We will miss his steady presence, his humor, and his dedication.

The Hawaiian-themed party in his honor was filled with laughter, warm wishes, and heartfelt farewells. We wish Mark nothing but the best in his next chapter.

So this is not goodbye, but Aloha, Mark.

Mark Reynolds

Young Players are Very Welcome!

Denton Bridge Studio

$12/session Cash or check only $6 Optional lunch

Thursday October 2, 2025

9:30 AM Stratified Open Pairs

1:30 PM Stratified Open Pairs

Friday October 3, 2025

9:30 AM Stratified Open Pairs

1:30 PM Stratified Open Pairs

Saturday October 4, 2025

9:30 AM Stratified Open Pairs

1:30 PM Stratified Open Pairs

1500 Dallas Dr. Texas Inn and Suites Denton, TX 76205

dentonbridgestudio@gmail.com 940-205-7300

Open Stratifications Flight A Open Flight B 300-1500 Flight C 0-300

Tournament Chair Ken Javor kdjavor@yahoo.com

Partnership Chair Mary Jane DeBusk dentonbridgestudio@gmai l.com

Pre-register by sending an email to dentonbridgestudio@gmail.com with your partner’s name.

Games & Classes for Newer Players - Come Join us!

0-99 Masterpoint Game: Every day at 6:00 p.m. (CT)

The 99er Nite Club East games are offered seven days a week at 6:00 p.m. If you are a 99er, ask your club if they are participating. Your club must "opt in."

0-199 Masterpoint Game: Every day at 6:00 p.m. (CT)

The 199er Nite Club games are offered seven days a week at 6:00 p.m. If you are a 199er, ask your club if they are participating. Your club must "opt in."

For more information email Janice_Hardcastle@hotmail.com

Click here to see the flyers for the Nite Club Games

Lecture Series

Zoom® Spanish Lecture Series - Third Saturday of every month at 12:00 p.m. (México City), 1:00 p.m. (CDT) September 20 & October 18 – TBD

Zoom® Intermediate/Newcomer Lecture Series - Fourth Saturday of every month at 12:00 p.m. (CDT) 11:00 a.m. (Mexico City) September 27 & October 25 – TBD

Click Zoom® Link for either lecture.

Remember that if you are unable to attend the live lecture, all are recorded so you can watch when you have the time. They are located on the D16 website under the Lectures button.

September 11th - 13th, 2025

4688 Louetta Rd, Spring, TX | 281-651-6550 | thebridgeclub@sbcbglobal.net

Event Schedule

Thursday thru Saturday Sept11th – 13th Single Sessions

499er Pairs 10am

499er Pairs 2pm

Stratification*

A (300-499) B (100-300) C (0-100)

* Strats may be modified by Director

Need a Partner?

Contact Kas Rangan 539-210-1333

kas.rangan99@gmail.com

Ambassador available for all sessions.

Notes

BCOH is a fragrance free facility. Life Masters with less than 500 pts can play.

Tournament Chair

Zane Bolen zbolen@comcast.net

Entry Fees

(Per Session - Cash Only)

Current ACBL Members

$12 Lapsed ACBL Members $16 ACBL number required to play. 120 day guest membership available free at https://www.acbl.org/membership/

Snacks / Lunch

Free snacks and drinks. Lunch available for $8 Cash each day if ordered by 10am.

Lodging

SpringHill Suites 20303

Chasewood Park Dr., Houston, TX 77070 has a discount rate of $105 + tax per night, and free cancellation 24 hours before check-in. Contact hotel directly at 832-953-2220 and ask for Imagine Peels and mention BCOH Bridge Tournament.

District 16 Teacher of the Year

Is there a bridge teacher who has inspired you? Now is the time to reward that individual’s enthusiasm, passion and patience! Celebrate your teacher! Nominate your teacher for the D16 Teacher of the Year award.

The nomination process works like this:

1.You ask your teacher if he/she would like to be nominated.

2.Your teacher agrees.

3.You send an email to district16TOY@gmail.com with your teacher’s contact information.

4.We take it from there.

Please submit nominations by November 30, 2025, so that your teacher has time to put together a portfolio by December 31, 2025.

The winner will be announced at the 2026 Lone Star Regional.

Bridge Center of Austin

4 TH- 5 TH Saturday & Sunday, 1:30 pm

Entry Fee: $10 per session

($4 additional per session for unpaid ACBL members)

K F ree Coffee & Snacks L

J Come early to hear Mark Craig's lecture on Special Doubles Ö

J Strat A: 100 – 200

K Strat B: 50 – 100

Ö Strat C: 0 – 50

Strats may be adjusted at Director’s discretion

Chair: Earnestine Broyles laughdoc7@aol.com

General Questions & Partnerships: unit207contactus@gmail.com

JThis is a fragrance-free tournament Ö

Go Here to Sign Up for Partners Online Available Starting Sept 29th D http://tinyurl.com/atxbridge

Bridge Center of Austin K 6700 Middle Fiskville Road

10510 Harwin Dr., Houston, TX 77036

Open Sectional Non-Life Master Regional

• I/N Regional is limited to Non -Life Masters under 750 MPs.

• Overall placement in 2 -session events earn 33% gold, 67% red.

• Single Session Open Pairs pay overall points each session.

• Pair average used for all events.

• Strats may be adjusted by the director to balance for strength of players.

Brigitte Sandifer (281) 494-1464 sandiferdb@gmail.com

- 7400

Judi Whaling (832) 661-1644 judiwhaling@gmail.com

(713) 468-0454 kjnimmons@sbcglobal.net