Bakersfield
By Mimi Stull
The results of the Spring Wildflower Sectional will be summarized in the next edition of the Forum. In the meantime, the scores are posted at www.acbl.org - click on sectional tournaments, Bakersfield.
Everyone worked so hard to have another successful tournament. Thanks to the board members who donated their expertise and especially to the food chairpeople: Connie Bruce, Connie McCay, Shirley Eide, and Teri Atkinson. Also, a special thank you to all those who donated food and door prizes and everyone who participated in the tournament. A good time had to be had by all!
The bridge luncheon at the Guild House included eight tables. Overall winners were: Deana Gratke - Sandy Denison; Sharon Wilson - Connie Bruce; Dene Ferris - Marj Roberstson; Caroline Littlejohns - Barbara Jones; Frank Short - Lois Short;’ Edie Sandrini - Joy Stuchlik; Marlyn Everett - Mimi Stull; Shirley Eide - Jerry Schmitt; and Liz Brown - Mort Brown.
Congratulations to those who moved up in rank: Sharon Balfanz, Club Master; and Claire Hammons, Sectional Master.
There were 12 tables at the March unit game. Overall winners, in descending order, included: 1/A Barbara Jones - Marge Robertson; Marty Hinds - Wafik Abdou; 1/B & C Mike Pemberton - Libbie Stull; Ann Kluewer - Caroline Littlejohns; Bob Pilshaw - Mimi Stull; Sharon Cobb - Toni Poe; Bess Taffera - GeorgeAnn Kerley; and Norman Maxwell - Janis Schaeffer.
The May unit game has been changed to the fourth Saturday, May 30, at 12:30 p.m. because the Visalia Sectional is on the third weekend. This will give those who wish a chance to participate and support the Visalia Sectional.
For further information or partners please contact Shirley Eide at 661 205-2439 or our web site acblunit514.com
Balboa
By Phil Pearl
prp75@socal.rr.com
Attention unit members: In case you have not noticed, there is something new on the unit web site acbldistrict22.com/515/ - click on “Unit Board”, and you will see the smiling faces of the 2009 board members, and the board auxiliary. Thanks go to Marilyn Christy and her trusty digital camera, and to Webmaster Charlyn Johnson. These are the people that make Unit 515 (quoting president Diana Black) “run like a well oiled machine.”
I have some interesting Balboa Unit trivia to share with you. As of March 1, 2009, we have 454 ACBL members in our unit. The distribution of members in masterpoint ranks is as follows: Rookie (0-5) 62; Junior Master (5-19) 58; Club Master (20-49) 61; Sectional Master (50-99) 37; Regional Master (100-199) 40; NABC Master (200-299) 28; Life Master (300-499) 31; Bronze Life Master (500-999) 49; Silver Life Master (1000-2499) 63; Gold Life Master (2500-4999) 15; Diamond Life Master (5000-7499) 3; Emerald Life Master (7500- 9999) 4; Platinum Life Master (10,000+) 1; Grand Life Master (10,000+ NABC championship ) 2. The aforementioned distribution does not resemble a statistical bell curve.
Dorothy Handy gave me the scoop on which Balboa Unit members were the money winners on Lowell Andrews bridge cruise to Hawaii and back. All of the money winners were in Strat B: 1. (Theresa Martell - Ed Wills). 2. (Dorothy Handy - Carol Pangburn). 3. (Carol Klahr - Lee Johnson). After eight sessions of Stratified Open Pairs, in Strat B 2nd place was .01% behind 1st place, and 3rd place was .01% behind 2nd place. That is certainly very close bridge and good stratification.
Patricia Bailey has moved the Huntington Beach games to Costa Mesa (Halecrest location). As a result, on Mondays and Fridays there will be an Open Stratified game and a 299er game at 12:15. Lynda Crawford is still the partnership contact for these games. There is a lot of history with the Huntington Beach games, which were played at the Women’s Club for several decades.
The 70% report: Sally Murphy - Tom Adams 71.06%, March 20, Costa Mesa. Bob Hinrichs - Ron Pennington 71.74% March 23, Costa Mesa Kris Krisher - Kathleen Preble 72.62% in Judy’s Non-Life Master game, March 11.
Contrary to previous reports, Yoko Yamaguchi did not move to San Diego. She is currently commuting between Orange County and Tokyo. Stay tuned for further developments.
The ACBL has notified Tom Adams that he made Diamond Life Master. We congratulate Tom for this achievement.
Other advancements in rank: New Regional Master (Simone Chottin). New NABC Master (Donna North). New Bronze Life Masters (Robert Hinrichs and Kurth Krause). New Silver Life Masters (Jay Boylan and Atsuko Kurishima). New members (Jacqueline Dale, Kim Davis, and Robyn Grant). Transfers into the Balboa Unit (Michael Bucklein, Erica Faust, and Patrick Nagel).
Bishop
By Lilla
For those of you that have not heard, the Ruffs are now on their way home to Alabama after another winter of skiing at Mammoth and “bridging” in Bishop. This was their fourth winter with us, and we will really miss them. Things around here seem to be slowing down, and Dottie is having four or five tables for each game. We were all rather discouraged for a while during the winter, but spring has moved in. The players are ready to get out in the gardens, but also to play more bridge.
It was our joy to see the Oslunds once again, and also other guests to the area.
Our winners for the month of March were: on the 2nd there was a STAC game and Reeder - Mizrahi were first, Lohr - Sheehan, 2nd, our out of town guests (no ACBL number) were 3rd with Muth - Gilbert 4th; another STAC game on the 4th with winners Imboden - Hadeler 1st, Reeder - Mizrahi 2nd, Greer and Gilbert 3rd, and Sparks and Lohr 4th.
The 9th saw Kittinger - Crunk in 1st, Reeder - Mizrahi in 2nd, and a tie for 3rd and 4th with Greer - Hadeler with Lohr - Sheehan; the 11th winners were Greer - Hadeler, a tie for 2nd/3rd with Taylor - Abbott and the Ruffs;
The 16th was a club championship with Kittinger - Crunk 1st, Farmer - Greer 2nd, Reeder - Mizrahi 3rd , Abbott - Busby 4th and Lohr - Smith 5th; on the 18th, Reeder - Mizrahi were 1st, Lohr - Sparks 2nd, Farmer - Greer 3rd, Abbott - Taylor 4th; the 23rd winners Kittinger - Crunk 1st, Taylor - Larson 2nd, Muth - Hobbs 3rd, and a tie for 4th-5th with Reeder - Mizrahi and Greer - Imboden; the 25th was Sheehan - Faint, Greer - Hadeler, and Reeder - Mizrahi; the last regular game for the month was on the 30th and in 1st was Reeder and Mizrahi, 2nd Farmer - Imboden, 3rd Abbott - Hobbs.
There were two unit games, one on the 8th with winners Reeder - Mizrahi, 2nd Lohr - Farmer, 3rd, Abbott - Sheehan, 4th Imboden - Hadeler, and 5th the Ruffs.
The other game was held on the 22nd with Reeder - Mizrahi in 1st, Muth - Hobbs 2nd, and a tie for 3rd and 4th with Farmer - Greer and Crunk - Kittinger.
Our best wishes, thoughts and prayers now go not only with Ron in his new location but also with the Ruffs as they once again leave us and join their family. We also send get well wishes, love and prayers to Evelyn as she still battles with her cancer treatments.
Coronado
By Jean Seager
Many players from Coronado and Chula Vista played in the San Diego Sectional and several did well. At the top of their game were Howard and Carolyn Crabtree, who won the Non-Life Masters Pairs game with a 70.94 percent. Also in the Non-Life Master Pairs event, newcomers Richard and May Hsieh placed first in E and F. In addition, Sally Naumann and her partner Russ Novak placed second overall in the Open Pairs in a 51-table event.
Congratulations to the three different pairs scored seventy percent or better at the Eastlake Bridge Club: check out their scores in the D22 70% Club page.
At the club games last month, winners at Eastlake were Robert Shapley and Walt Bochenek (twice), Trish Lane and Randy Fadem, Elaine Chan and Tom Ciolli, Rose Vogt and Laurie Dodson, and Robert Shapley and Terry Moy.
In Coronado Marty Roth and Norma Lyerly teamed up for two wins, as did Alice Dudley and Betty Birmingham. Other winners were Florence Zahn and Wayne Lafferty, Phil Akre and Alice Dudley, John Pizzatto and Dick Palmer, and Mike Welsh and Richard Hsieh. Also scoring wins were Cheryl Nielson and Jim Andrews, Carol Brager and Betty Thompson, Marguerite Cook and Hazel Metz, and Leila and Marty Bloomberg.
As spring enters its apex, we look forward to more exciting times at the bridge tables.
Dana Harbor
By Catherine Cram
Lots of Novice & Intermediate Games - Dana Harbor is really the place to be if you are a newer player. We now offer games every weekday: Monday evenings - Easybridge!, Tuesday and Thursday are 199er games and Wednesday and Friday will be 99er games. We had so many tables on a recent day that some were on the patio! Thanks to all our beginning and intermediate players ... and the old-timers too. Visit our web site for more details).
Special fifth Sunday Unit Games – A special “Pasta/ Pot Luck” unit game will be run when there is a fifth Sunday in the month. March 29 was such a game – 1st N/S Don and Mary Elin Ellis; 1st E/W Patricia Menefee and Andy DeLeon.
The next regular unit game is May 17 (third Sunday) and the next special pasta/pot luck unit game is May 31.
More Special Games – “Beat the Board” is a special game being offered on Friday evening, April 17 at 7:00 p.m. It’s a charity game and that means extra points, but also a money prize for beating the representative board member in your stratification.
Another special game is on April 22 (daytime) – to honor past presidents.
2009 Mentor Program – I didn’t hear any notable quotes this month, but probably because all the mentors and mentees are working very hard and not talking much.
Directors – Recently 2009 board officers were announced, but I managed to miss two of them. Jane Dober is in charge of food, and Jim Shapiro is the facilities man — Two extremely important functions – providing us a clean and cheerful place to play and lots of nice things to eat! Writing the Forum column is a “piece of cake” next to that!
Big Games – Be sure to see the District 22 70% Club column to find seven games turned in this month.
New Members and New Ranks – We are very excited to welcome 12 new members! Sherry Bauer, Jean Boukai, Judith Brausch, Renate Cohen, Cathryn DeYoung, Elaine Frey, Bob Hebner, Carleen Morgal, Michele Otta, Seezer Pehlivan, Mary Jayne Pugh, and Diane Starnes.
Attaining new ranks are Junior Masters: Carl Becker, Michael Cohen, Herbert Ludwig, Roberta Ludwig, Harold McBee and Deedee Pichard. Club Masters: Alan Cawi and Surendra Gupta; Regional Masters: Eileen Garbutt & Kristine Katz. Silver Life Master – Jacob Weisberg.
Congratulations to all!
A little membership factoid – Of our 471 members 69% are Non-Life Masters; 31% are various degrees of Life Master.
Out there playing – Eddie Rose and Anne Gillespie won an Open Pairs event at the San Diego Sectional. Down in Houston at the Spring NABC - some BIG point winners: Philip Hiestand playing with Judy Elbogen won 44.44 platinum points in a two session National Mixed Pairs. Meanwhile, Mark Itabashi and Steven Love took first in a similar event and won 36.56 platinum.
Under the Weather – Best wishes to Eugenia Corb and Tilak Lal, who are getting back in action but had to do some hospital time recently.
Dana Harbor Unit 538 949 248-1268 is located near the ocean, marina and Doheny Beach. We have friendly games daily. Visit our web site for details:
danaharborbridgecenter.org.
La Jolla/Beach
By Alice Leicht
March activities were plentiful and were sources of some great competitions. The NABC spring championships in Houston attracted several local players. Many packed in a load of masterpoints and came home with huge smiles. Steve Johnson, unit board member, flew home on the wings of interesting successes. He “made it” to three finals in national events. Considering the hundreds of pairs that he contended against this was a huge performance. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Congratulations.
Back home results were exciting as well. On March 8 Elaine Chan with Michael Mezin placed first in our pairs game. That is to say 1st in Flights A, B, and C. In Flight A second place went to Joel Hoersch with Fumie Graves. In Flight B Gillian Cook with Manzoor Khan were second and Flight C second went to Barry and Emily Berkov.
Winners of Flight A on March 22 were Fumie Graves with Joel Hoersch. David Oakley and David Walters were second. Buster and Tinker Mico took 1st in Flight B, followed by Marian Zeldin with Anita Reith. Flight C winners were Ursula Kantor with Georgie Goyette. Jean Louis and Pat Astier were 2nd.
The fifth Sunday rolled in with an “Eight is Enough” Swiss Teams event. Eighteen teams were in contention. The winners were the team of Kathie Angione, Bob Shapley, Michael Mezin, and Elaine Chan.
In the masterpoint runs we have several members who have played themselves up to higher levels. Nicholas Miller is a new Junior Master. Rich Custard and Victoria Nardone are now Club Masters. Sectional Master category includes Debbie and Norman Hedenberg, along with Patricia Wilkey. Carol Abramowitz is a Regional Master and Eve Lonack became an NABC Master.
Geraldine Weiss has graduated to Bronze Life Master. Former board member Jackie Washington has achieved Silver Life Master status. A fairly new member of our unit, Suzanne Lebendig has gained Diamond Life Master ranking. This group deserves one really loud cheer - followed by several regular “Hurrahs!” A great job done by all of you!
Unit 526 happily welcomes Patrick Mahoney back into our midst. (Was it just an accident that he came on our scene in March (as in St. Patrick’s)?
We also welcome back a star performer, Dayou Zhou. We’ve missed you.
And so our saga continues. Tune in next month for further news about our terrific unit.
Lompoc
By Don Kerr
Once again we had one player way ahead of the rest of us: Ada Bakalar was our big winner with four wins! David Bakalar and Joyce Gehlhaar had three. They were followed by Malcolm Anderson, Barbara Holt, Robert Jurgensen, Don Kerr, Robert Lindquist, and Kay Roland with two wins. Players winning once were Dixie Burnett, Walt Burnett, Marg Flack, Jo Gowenlock, Sue Helmuth, Yvonne Mahoney, and Nelson Owens.
Palm Springs/ Coachella Valley
By Nancy Erickson
Our unit held its Annual Awards Program and unit game, ably directed by Tom McCormick and assisted by Jane Patchett, April 5 at Mizell Senior Center. In addition to honoring our Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney winners for 2008, previously listed in last month’s Forum column, the membership saluted our new Life, Bronze, Silver and Gold Masters. Honorees included recent Life Master Beverly Hartin and new Gold Life Masters Berny Gertz and Tom Lund. Jon Wittes won the Lucy Mitchell Award, Irv Kostal received the Zobel Award and John Powers was the recipient of the Barbara Mondo Memorial Award. The culmination of the awards program was the presentation of the Edith Hirschman Award to Christel King. Members enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by unit board secretary Bev Hartin.
Congratulations to Irv and Shawnee Kostal, overall winners of the unit game playing East/West and to the North/South team of Lori Smith and Michael Walker who bested all other North/South teams.
Congratulations to Flo Boggio on placing first in the Ace of Clubs race in District 22.
The unit was able to donate $1,000 to the Well of the Desert, thanks to the generosity of Isadore and Rosalie Sharp in providing a weekend get-away for our raffle at the sectional. That donation will feed 500 people for one week.
The May 3 unit game will be held at Mizell Senior Center. Desserts will be the bill of fare, so eat healthy prior to trekking over to the game and save some room for a sweet or two.
Unit members needing silver points should mark May 4-10 on their calendar. Most club games will be participating in the Great Western Spring STAC week. It is a great time to mine some silver!
The unit board met with club directors on April 3 and it was a very productive meeting. Webmaster Bob McConnell unveiled a new concept for reporting game results based on member feedback. Members will be pleased with the final product once the glitches are resolved.
With the cooperation of the club directors, the unit will develop a Player Registry with phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Members will need to complete a form to post their information. Go to our web site atcoachellavalleybridge.com and follow the instructions or contact a unit board member for the necessary form.
Welcome new members Jim Anderson, Margaret Angros, Lee Culhane, William Hartin, Kwanshing Hui and Georgia Pettijohn. Congratulations to our latest newlyweds Sherry and Woody McHarg.
Alert! If you lost a set of hearing aids at the Palm Springs Sectional, contact Nancy Erickson at 760 564-7363.
Ridgecrest
By Tony Miller
I lost one of my bridge partners last month. Ev Greene died suddenly, and too soon, due to an aneurysm. He was our unit treasurer and my main backup director. In other health news, Betty Doig is still recuperating from pneumonia, but is reportedly doing much better. Mavis Royer had a growth removed and has been out for a few weeks. Barbara Meggers is back at the games after being off for over a month. Margaret O’Neill is day-to-day with COPD, and tries to play regularly. She is probably going to leave us to live with her daughter. Jody Skaggs has gone to Las Vegas for a while to help her mother, Lee Taie, move into a new facility. Lee reportedly isn’t doing well right now.
On a happier note, another of my partners, Greg Vernon, achieved Gold Life Master status and hosted a dinner for all the regular players to celebrate. Congratulations, Greg. He did this in three years after his Silver LM. The dinner was also to celebrate his retirement from Civil Service.
At the bridge table, Greg and I won the unit game with Roy Cole and Dave Flatman second, followed by Esther Sires and Sarah Carter, then Yvonne Chilina and Yasuko Mullen.
The masterpoint leaders in the TGiF clubs were myself followed by Sarah, Greg, Yasuko, Jody, Craig Stump, Charlene Stephens, Esther, Charlie Wright, and Sue Douglas. In the COM club the leaders were Dave Speer followed by Greg, myself, Jay and Mary Kay Bornfleth, Jack Waller, Sarah, and Jody.
Riverside
By Les Moore
The Riverside Bridge Club has always welcomed newcomers, but now there is a new group - the 0-20 masterpoint playing group, on Tuesday afternoons. This should help those new to bridge feel more comfortable in learning to play in the atmosphere of duplicate competition. For more complete information on this and other matters about games at the Riverside Bridge Club, call 951 369-1790.
If you are interested in taking bridge lessons, please contact Dagmar Welker at 951 683-5106.
Since there are no sectional or regional tournaments in our area at this time of year, it gives us an chance to get to know some members of our club better: This month we will look at a member who plays every day the club is open: Jean Killilea. Now, that’s consistency!
Interviewing Jean yielded many interesting aspects about her life, starting with her name. Jean stated that Killilea is a very rare Irish name. She stated that if anyone in the United States has that name, she is probably related to them. In her personal life, she graduated from Northwestern University with a major in music. She taught piano and tap dancing for thirty years. One of her pupils was our bridge director, Dagmar Welker. Jean has played bridge for many years, but duplicate bridge for only the past 20 years. Jean is also an all-around helper in getting things set up for daily bridge games. A thanks to you, Jean, for your valuable contributions to our club, and for sharing this personal information. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Congratulations to the Riverside Bridge Club members who joined the district 70% club during the month of March. They were: Bob and Mary Lou Stotts, Marshal Miles and Dolores McDonald and Lavonne Morrison and Ken Olivier. For other specifics, check elsewhere in this issue.
Saddleback
By Bob Destino
Wow! 35 tables!
Another great turnout at Unit 525’s March unit game at Laguna Woods. Thanks to everyone who participated. We had three sections, and here are the winners: Bernice Rothstein and Alice Mitchell, Charlotte and Stephen Sturm, Anne Christensen and Sue Dreier, Phillip Hiestand and Weidong Pei, Jim and Gale Senter, and Ahmed Sorathia and Atsuko Kurishima.
Congratulations!
Our next unit game is May 10. It will be your chance to win silver points in a Great Western Spring STAC game. In June, the unit game will be June 14. Both of these games will be at the great bridge facility at Laguna Woods Clubhouse 7 off Moulton Parkway. If you need directions, please call Bob Destino at 949 586-9488.
Finally, we welcome the following new Unit 525 members: Annie Best, Elizabeth Carlisle, Armond Deane, Ron Gilles and Penny Pralle.
San Diego
By Vicki Creamer
And now we have the rest of the story for our sectional, which ended March 1. The Friday Compact KO was won by Sally and Steve Clark, V. Everett Boyer - Ivar Stakgold; #2 went to Evan Ziegler - Linda Gu - Patricia Loh - Herman Lin; and #3, Eve Lonack - Marvin Warner - Patrica Curci - Michael Kohn. Saturday KO winners were Ahmed Sorathia - Mariko Kakimoto - Jeff Strutzel - Atsuko Kurishima; #2, Janice Joerger - Marilyn Kalabasa - Lawrence Sherman - Kannan Dan; and #3, Evan Ziegler - Mari Uhry - Nira Levy - John Neville. Good work!
Saturday morning N-LM winners were Anwar Hafeez - Lynne Anderson; #2, Kristine Katz - Pat Dolphin; and #3, Marvin Warner - Mary Ann Houston. Afternoon NLM winners were Geneva Murphy - Thomasine Breher; #2, Stacy Reddan - Elayne Henke; and #3, Donald Thomas - Ruth Aronsohn. The morning Open Pairs was won by Ronald Huffaker - David Walters; #2, Ronald Kay - David Anding; and #3, Suzanne Lebendig - Mac Busby. Afternoon Open winners were Eddie Rose - Ann Gillespie; #2, Steven Johnson - Mark Teaford; and #3, Ronald Huffaker - David Walters. Congratulations.
A super sectional with lotsa winners!
The final Sunday Swiss A/X was won by David White - Matthew Mallory - Ellie Feigenbaum - Jeff Strutzel with David Walters - David Oakley - Ron and Mary Huffaker taking second place. The BCD Swiss had overall winners Brent Orlesky - Ronald Oliver - Daniel and Patt Sloan; #2, Juana Andrecht - Phyllis Pankow - Martha Roth - Latricia McConnell.
Our May 15-17 NLM Sectional is next (with a regular Sunday unit game).
The March 15 game was our first where any player can bring a cake to celebrate a special birthday. The first to do so was Roger Doughman to celebrate the special birthday of Beverly Forman.
Happy Birthday, Beverly!
Overall winners were Alan and Debbie Gailfus; #2, Evie and John Coufal; #3, Donna Wood - Kirk Kuhlmann. NLM winners were Harold Simon - Majid Aalom; #2, Delores McGregor - Patsy Jennings; #3, Howard and Margaret De Young.
Our new election chairperson Laura Loring and co-chair Lynne Newmann will have completed our list of candidates. Be sure to mail your ballot back to our P.O. Box or deposit it in the ballot box at AIB. Again, note the amended calendar posted at AIB; the Summer Sectional is August 14-16, NOT July 31-Aug. 2 as originally listed. Also, the September 6 unit game will be a “Trophy Tribute” event, honoring our dear departed bridge buddies. Mark your calendars!
This month your donated Bridge Bulletins were taken to Kaiser-Vandevere and Zion. Keep recycling those Bulletins (at the back table at AIB next to the refrigerator) and feel free to take one with a sticker on it to your favorite space for others to learn about our great game.
Milestones: Junior Masters: Lynne Anderson, Cinda Caruso, Elaine McElhinney, Richard Smith. Club Master: Judy Winter. Sectional Master: Kevin Chaisson. Regional Masters: Jane Good, Rebecca Higgins, Deborah Ives, Ciriaco Maffia, Marlene Maffia, Eliane Pepper, Stuart Sechriest, Daniel Sloan, Claire Tremaine, Susan White, Evan Ziegler. NABC Masters: Shay Andrews, Kannan Dan, Douglas McCalla. Bronze Life Master: Michele Zuniga. Silver Life Master: Latricia McConnell.
Hooray! These winners were honored at our April 5 awards game.
[Editor’s Note: Tom Evans, long-time popular member of San Diego Unit 539, died of an apparent heart attack on April 14. He was living in Las Vegas at the time.]
San Diego North County Coastal
By Iris Allyn
Once again we have new members - they are as follows: Herbert M. Krongold, Jane Krongold, Barbara Neil, Mary Polopolous. Transferees: Jamie Detweiler, Mary Lou Kammerer, Betty Ann McGeehan, Michele A Zuniga. New Silver Life Master: Nicholas A Krall.
Ida Burcham
March 5 at the ESDC, Walter and Ken had another 70.51 percent game. Finally, but I’m sure not last, Walter Malen and Dennis Cleary had a 70.14 percent game at the ESDC March 19.
Thursday, Encinitas: The Encinitas game is an invitational rated game because it is restricted to players who have succeeded in reaching the age of 55 years. We can award only 80 percent of the awards given by an open game. We still handed out over 90 masterpoints during March. Three Life Masters headed the list of awards, with Walter Malen leading the pack with 5.26; Wayne Holm and Donald Howell were tied for the next two slots with 3.52.
Fallbrook Thursday, Fran White
Friendly Village Bridge Club, Fallbrook’s Thursday game, held a club championship March 26. Overall winners and club champs were Lois Woodson and Jean Reed. They will receive a “free play” for the victory.
Also congrats Alan Lasnover, masterpoint leader for March. Alan recorded three wins and one second with four different partners! Other leaders for the month were Marilyn Rumsey and Kimble Proverose.
Oceanside, Tuesday Ida Burcham
These months with five Tuesdays in them are a lot more exciting than the other months. We threw in a club championship this month, too, so we were able to award over 121 masterpoints. Jane Felder and Lynette Martin won our club championship, so that put them in first and second for the masterpoint list. I am delighted to write that Cherie Sato was third on the list with 5.19 points. She had a winning month with her service dog, Mollie. Mollie isn’t all that hot about playing duplicate, but she goes where Cherie goes.
Oceanside Monday Ida Burcham
We had two charity games and one club championship during the month of March, and with five Mondays we were busy little bees. We handed out over 200 masterpoints all total. Irene Howard and Louise McNary are regular partners on Monday, and they took top honors in the regular club masterpoints with 4.27. Dennis Cleary and Scott Nelson won our first charity game and won 5.17 points. Robert and Doreen Scolnick, one of our visiting snow birds, won our second charity game with an award of five points. We don’t have many 70 % games on Monday, and it is usually a photo finish for some of our wins. It is a case of every board counts at the Monday game.
Cardiff, Monday a.m. Harvey Goldstein
The month saw a most unusual occurrence at Harvey’s Bridge. After going months without a 70% game we had four of them during this past month.
To find out who turned out these prime performances, check the 70% listings in the District 22 70 Percenter column. What fine performances from some quality players!
We had a number of very solid players during the month who led their sections or had outstanding games including Leon and Sandy Parish, Ruth Aronsohn - Marlene Hall, John Trombold - Fred Hershenson, Anne Scott - Pat Astiet, Nira Levy - John Neville, Joan Gross - Marlene Subel, Dave Kimball - Jan Buffo, Alden Seifried - Betty Wallace
Solana Beach, Monday p.m. Donna Wood
Solana Beach’s Esplanade Bridge Club held five games in March, awarding almost 100 total masterpoints! Leading winners in the open game were: Marina Fomenkova, Janice Joerger, Marilyn Kalabsa, Jeff Leach, Scott Nelson, Andy Loh, Spencer Emtage, Michele Zuniga, Joan Kroener, Margarete Carioba, and Don Cooper. Leading masterpoint winners in the I/N game were: Margie Blitz, Sheila Feurst, Gene Prida, Tony Lubowe, Ray Gogolewski, Chip Splinter, Susie and Tom Boardman, Ziggy Nagy and Efy Tal. Congratulations to all!
Solana Beach, Sunday Donna Wood
During March, the North County Bridge by the Sea Bridge Club held two invitational games at the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club. Leading masterpoint winners for March were Jan Buffo, Pat Astier, Pat and Steve Reid, George Berris, Louise Manganelli, Wootsie Stockton, Larry Erickson, Sandy Kucha, Don Cooper, and Carole Webb. Reminder - if you wish to play at this game, you either need to be a member or get a member to sponsor you. Please e-mail Lee Erickson at lericks@adelphia.net if you need a sponsor.
Don’t forget to check the unit web page at: acbldistrict22.com/531/Lomas/info.html for the dates and times of scheduled games.
The unit game Sunday, April 5 was at Ocean Hills Country Club. Country Club. Top finishers were Donna Wood - Paul Foster, followed by Ruth Willner - Betsey Illes and Donald Cooper - Jeffrey Leach.
In the 299er game, Marge Garland - Olive McCullough were first followed by Pamela Thacker - Janice Joerger and David Goldfarb - Raymond Gogolewski.
San Diego North County Inland
By Liz Nixon
Unit 549’s Silver Splash, March 14th, had 72 tables over two sessions - a record for attendance! A special thanks to everyone who played, and to board members Bill Sperry, Leslie Beaver, Donna Wood, and Matt Belau for their volunteer work putting on the event and making it seem so effortless. We’d also like to thank Lee Hofacre at the NCBC for letting us rent his space that Saturday - it’s a great place to play a game of bridge.
In the morning session, John Sack and Larry Sherman came in 1st overall followed by Sue Soderer and Romi Mina, Eileen Garbutt and Mark Rehms, Pat Schmidt and Betty Brekke, and Rich Mackaig and Surenda Gupta. The afternoon session found the morning 1st and 2nd place pairs switching spots - Sue Soderer and Romi Mina came in 1st overall with John Sack and Larry Sherman 2nd. They were followed by Karen McCarthy and Lynne Parker (3rd), Howard Katz and Doris Cubeisy (4th), and Susan White and Jag Bhola (5th).
Unit 549 supports local and national charities, did you know? Unit 549 made a donation to the Assistance League of Inland North County this month. Our check for $500 was matching, in part, to the donation made by the Lake San Marcos club of $300 last month. The San Marcos players also supported the Lake San Marcos Kiwanis Foundation, the San Marcos Senior Center, and of course the ACBL Junior Fund. Unit 549 is also donating four new card tables to be used over at Oasis, where Unit 549’s own Bill Butler is teaching classes.
Upcoming events in Unit 549 are the Great Western Spring STAC May 4-10, unit games April 25, May 22, and June 26. Unit 549’s Summer Sectional is scheduled for July 17-19. Mark the dates now!
Congratulations to Unit 549 70%+ games in February and March: To find out these outstanding achievers, check the listings on the District 22 70 Percenter Club column.
Members reaching new levels of achievement in Unit 549 are: Arlene Pergamit, Junior Master; Jo Rita Gates, Club Master; Ginger Calvert, Roberta Cohen, Herman Lin, Sectional Masters; Paul Van Middlesworth, Bronze Life Master.
Congratulations to all!
New members welcomed to Unit 549 are Linda Chatton, Violet Devoe, Carolyn Espey, Speedy Greenwood, Christine Shorkey, Dennis Kibler, Betty Ann McGeehan, Tom Tatham, and Arthur Woodrow. Unit 549 welcomes you to our clubs and unit events.
On March 28, Unit 549 held its monthly unit game at North County Bridge Center with 14 tables in the open game and seven full tables in the 299er game. The big winners in the open game were Tim Flaherty - Kirk Kuhlman, followed by Patricia Watson - Jeri Adams, Dennis Cleary - Kris Subbaro, Lorraine Suder - Hanna Elad, Rex and Sheila Latus, Paul Foster - Donna Wood. Flight B winners Jean-Louis and Pat Astier, followed by Matt Belau - Janet Dunlap, Warren Cummings - Allen Larson, Bill and Nancy Sperry, and Chuck and Madonna Donaldson. In Flight C first place were Dan Howard and Linda Iredale, followed by Alan Groh - Kathy Alman, Charlotte and Leo Bluestein, Bill and Clare Key, Ron and Nancy Perkins, Diane Miller - Cara Hall. Congratulations to all winners. All unit games are on the fourth Saturday of the month at North County Bridge Center. Go to www.sdbridge.com for unit events.
Top Achievers at North County Bridge Center for March in the following categories are: Open - Tim Flaherty; 0-1500 - Tom Nolan; 0-750 - Maggie Yeh; 0-300 - Nancy Perkins; 0-100 - Ron Perkins; Future Master - Charles Stoddard.
Congratulations all players of the month.
Don’t forget North County Bridge Center is hosting mega point games, charity games the third Saturday of each month in 2009. These games alternate between “Perfect Swiss” games and Barometer Pairs games, and there will always be standbys to ensure full teams and tables. Check with Cathy or Lee at the NCBC for more details.
Find out more about the NCBC’s schedule at the club or by contacting Cathy or Lee @ 760 747-6092.
Over at Lake San Marcos Senior Center, the LSMDBC’s charity games supported the Lake San Marcos Kiwanis Foundation, ACBL Junior Fund, “Get On the Bus” and the San Marcos Senior Center.
A Halloween & Charity Bridge Cruise is planned for the fall. Join Jean Holt, director on the Radiance of the Seas, Oct. 29-Nov. 2 for a 4-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas. This mini-bridge camp will focus on Defense! We will have lessons and sanctioned bridge on the days at sea and a fun day in Cabo San Lucas. The cruise will support the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos and charity points will be awarded. Call Liz Nixon for a flyer, 760 510-8291 or e-mail her at:
cruzqueen@sbcglobal.net
Top five MP winners for March were Rima Sharron, John Sharron, Gary Beed, Pete Kaufman, and Jean Holt. Way to go, Top 5!
The Lake San Marcos DBC hosts Open games on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., and Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Remember to call Jean at 760 734-4518 or Nina at 760 736-9386 to reserve a spot at the table (especially on Tuesday nights - nice turnouts!).
BobMar Bridge Center’s march games brought out the following high winners with 60% or more: Lois Zetter - Shelley Gehrlick, Dan Carter - June Wood, Joan Kroener - Mary Fenton, Elaine and David Gifford, Ed Vanderslice - Diana Heskett, Carole Webb - Don Cooper, Ted and Joja Applegate and, last but not least, Silas Burdick and Eva Dawson. On Sunday, May 14, BobMar will hold a Great Western Spring STAC game. Please call Marcia at 760 918-2424. As of April 25, BobMar will start a Saturday game at 1:00 p.m. The Sunday games will continue starting at 1:00 p.m. All games are at the Grandon Senior Center in San Marcos.
Did you know that you can get all of the latest Unit 549 news at www.sdbridge.com ... including the Unit 549 Calendar of Events, Unit Newsletter and game results?
San Luis Obispo
By Lynn Crawford
After last month’s lengthy column, I thought you deserved a break from lengthy winners lists. Some noteworthy wins, however, include a brother - sister team of Carol Moss and Charles Davis, who came in recently with a first in A, B, and C categories in San Luis as well as winning the Friday membership game. The Wednesday night membership game was won by Dixie Hsu and La Moyne Beene.
My apologies to Dixie Hsu and Bill Ringbom, who actually won first overall in the Holiday Game recently. I did not realize there were two sections, and listed the A section winners as the overall winners. However, Dixie and Bill had a 65% game in section B, and that “trumps” all others.
We would like to welcome new ACBL member Lee Jeberjahn who, along with David Sumi came in first in a Monday game. The Wednesday night game will be preceded by a discussion session regarding various bidding, play, or director ruling issues. The club plans to continue these intermediate discussions starting at 6:00 p.m. and lasting about 15 minutes just before each Wednesday night game.
I have learned that during a recent Sapphire Princess Cruise, Joan Flaherty and Larry Cavanaugh came in with an 83% game.
Congratulations to you both.
Kandi Osborne and Gus Gustafson have stepped down from the board in San Luis. Gus has been on the board for many years, and his services ... along with Kandi’s ... have been greatly appreciated.
The addition of a Saturday game in San Luis has been put on hold until we can get back into the Senior Center. In other additions, the Paso club is going to begin Monday night low cost lessons, beginning and intermediate at 5:30 p.m. in May with (hopefully) a game to follow. This will be held at the Senior Center on Scott Street.
There will be no lessons or game on the second Monday of the month due to schedule conflicts. Advance reservations are greatly appreciated.
There is a good regional coming up in Sacramento on May 25-31 if you are so inclined. Don’t forget the Great Western Spring STAC games May 4-10 at the clubs. Lots of (silver) points.
Kathleen Harrington has moved back to Texas and will be missed.
Also, our thoughts and good vibes go out to those battling major diseases, recovering from recent surgeries, or getting used to a new hip: Jean Gellis, Len Kowal and Don Glover - get well soon!
Santa Ana
By Joe Chaikin
The Santa Ana Unit hosted a highly successful sectional to start April at the Anaheim Bridge Club, with attendance of over 150 tables and free refreshments supplied by the Santa Ana Unit Board. The leading masterpoint winner was Mark Itabashi (12.89 points). Charles Messell was the leading winner among Santa Ana Unit members, accumulating 10.45 points including winning the A/X Swiss with Ginnie Blitzman, Mary St. Julian and Oliver Yildiz, and winning the Saturday afternoon Open Pairs (A) with Al Martinez. Other notable accomplishments by unit members included Sheila Wolff and Bill Skupen winning the Friday evening pairs (A), Robert and Lori Barrett winning the Saturday afternoon pairs (C), and in the Saturday evening pairs, Paul Chung and Marcella Lane coming third in A, Nancy Tutor and Arthur Steed winning B and Renata Blocker and Nila Bhatia winning C.
On Sunday, May 31, the Santa Ana Unit will host an event at the Anaheim Bridge Club that should be of general interest. Following a potluck at 11:00 a.m., well-known bridge author Mike Lawrence will give a talk on Takeout Doubles, followed with a quiz on sample hands. Total cost will be $60 - all of which will go to charity.
Those interested in attending should contact Sheila Wolff 714 417-1534.
Santa Barbara
By Norma Zuchowicz & Ronnie Morris
We have been missing Cissy Costner who is struggling mightily with several health problems. We hope her indomitable will and our encouraging thoughts will prevail and she will return soon.
A reminder that we have two new games: A 99er game on Monday mornings at 9:30 a.m., and a 299er game on Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. Come join in … The 299er winners on Thursday, March 26 were Roberta Solodkin and Gennelle Linville (N/S) and Shirley Brous and Jackie Inskeep (E/W). Edward Loper and Ralph Edebo and Adrianne and George Sturman captured 2nd place respectively.
In our monthly Fast Pairs game (the first Friday of each month), Gail and John Kahan were 1st (so far they’ve dominated in the Fast Pairs) and Jim and Judy Edmonson and Mickey Rosenzweig and Norma Jean Shaw tied for 2/3 place.
Our club championships on Friday, March 27 had Paul Murphy and Gil White in 1st place in Flights A & B with David and Lorene Lynch 2nd; in Flight C Agnes and David Murdoch were 1st with Ingrid Gold and Shirley Diamond in 2nd place.
Thanks to Candace Dauphinot, our new club manager, for organizing us so well.
In a recent statistical report which we received from the ACBL, the average age of the members in our unit is 67.61 and the average length of membership is 19.33 years.
We will return, hopefully, next month. Enjoy your cards, your opponents, and your partners, without both of which we would be relegated to a mundane game of solitaire.
Santa Maria
By Joe Cohan
By the time you read this, I’m sure you will have all your partners lined up for our Annual Jo Boyd Santa Maria Strawberry Sectional May 1-3 at the Masonic Temple, 700 E. Lakeview, Santa Maria. If not, call Vi D’Alessandro 805 938-0772 for last minute pairings.
Speaking of Vi, she just made Silver Life Master, so congratulations from us all!
This month’s winners are: (since Robert comes in first so often, I thought I’d wave my flag first for once!) Me and Robert Faust (4), Jean Allen-Faust (3) Diane Bouquet, Jan Petit, Marilyn Bullock, Vic Cardiel - and the following C players are also overall winners: Peggy Johnsen, Art Scheithauer, (2) June/Keido Shimizu, Margaret Arbogast, Jerry Riezebos, Diana Jackson, Bonnie Hales, John Arbogast,, Vi D’Allessandro, Barbara Basila, Dan Davis, and the other overall C winners are Gene Hershbergeer, Barbara Lohman, Cecil Ward and James Petrella (1). Notably missing is Judy English, who is still busy recuperating.
Let’s hope she’s okay soon.
High Scoring Cs are Sue Barrett, Janice Scott (3) Pat Aldred, Pauline and Cecil Ward, James Kelly, (2) Sharon Redman, Ruth Ring, Rita and John Eppard, Karen Bogard, Joe Boucher, and Bill Allen.
Congratulations to all!
Southern Gold Coast
By Sue Munday
With the arrival of spring comes the announcement of the Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney winners for our unit. The Ace of Clubs award recognizes those players who have earned the most masterpoints playing at the club level, while the Mini-McKenney recognizes total masterpoints won.
The 2008 Ace of Clubs winners are Rookie Kirit Dharia, Junior Masters Len and Dora Amato, Club Master Eugene Saxon, Sectional Master Teryl Burke, Regional Master Leighton Wells, NABC Master Fred Frank, Life Master Donna Bell, Bronze Life Master Don Daly, Silver Life Master Joe Conti, Gold Life Master Gerald Collier, and Diamond Life Master Bill Hall.
The 2008 Mini-McKenney winners are Rookie Kirit Dharia, Junior Masters Len and Dora Amato, Club Master Eugene Saxon, Sectional Master Teryl Burke, Regional Master Leighton Wells, NABC Masters Melvin and Jacqueline Kovnat, Life Master Donna Bell, Bronze Life Master Jim Rupp, Gold Life Master Jim Munday, and Diamond Life Master Bill Hall.
Somewhere in there, Larry Brasler deserves a little recognition for winning over 500 masterpoints last year.
And speaking of masterpoints ... The Bridge Academy II is participating in the Great Western Spring Sectional Tournaments at Clubs (STAC) May 4-9. This is a unique opportunity to go up against players throughout the western districts of the ACBL without going further than your neighborhood club - and win silver points if you do well.
The next unit game is scheduled for Sunday, May 31. Lunch will be served at noon, game time is 12:30 p.m. Please bring a side dish or dessert, if you feel so inclined, to add to the feast. Winners of the March 29 unit game were Jim and Sue Munday (A), Diane and John Gunther (B) and Phyllis Zerg and Renee Kramer (C).
News from unit webmaster Jim Munday: “The unit web site has adopted an automated results page. It does require results to be uploaded to the web. Daytime players who are computer savvy can help by sticking around after the game to help load the results while the directors get the hang of things. It only takes a few minutes.
You can find these club recaps, along with calendars and tournament results - online at:
acbldistrict22.com/532/
In the “probably best left unsaid” department: I’m supposed to report that Jim scored up four, 70% games in March - playing with four different partners - which Gerry Collier tells me is some kind of record or something. There’ll be no living with him now!
Congratulations to Bhojo T. Shahani, who has achieved the Junior Master level, and to Elaine Taft, our unit’s newest Sectional Master. Well done.
The first-ever Ventura Regional will be the hoppin’ place to be June 8-14. Tournament flyers are available at the club; you can also find out whatever you need to know by visiting the tournament’s web site:
venturaregional. com
Visalia
By Robbie Rouch
Thirteen contests in the March reporting period averaged over 10 tables, with friends from Fresno and Bakersfield frequently adding to the table count and the list of winners. Bob Loudermilk was the most frequent victor with four. Following close behind with three each were Alice Pickens, Howard Arquette, Lorna Cheng, Vincent Cheng, and Warren Cederborg. Double-dealing were Kay Link, Gerard Laquerriere, Larry Cavanaugh, Mun Takeda, Pam Woods, Pat DelaMontanya, and Suzi Cederborg. Other 1st place finishers were Allyson Farrell, Avis Morse, Carol Carr, Carolyn Givan, Dale and Susan Hankins, Erika Hunyady, Fran Prins, Harlan Ellis, Helen Davidson, Janice Crossland, Marcie Buford, Mike and Mary Florio, Nancy Crowe, Paul Schommer, and Villa Vejvoda.
On masterpoint night, players had to endure Robbie’s harangue on more aggressive openings (the rule of 21 plus), but were then treated to dinner and bridge, as hardware and hugs were passed out to 2008 Mini- McKenney and Ace of Club winners. Those recognized were Doris Dunn, Lissa Zvonar, Bob Iorio (B), Harlan Ellis (B), Keith Lindersmith, Pam Woods, Carol Carr, Betty Smith, Susan Spears, Fran Prins, Allyson Farrell (B), Suzi Cederborg (B), Robbie Rouch, Alice Pickens, Warren Cederborg (B), and Larry Cavanaugh (B). Note: (B) signifies winners in both categories.
Remember to save the weekend of May 15. Come for the great hospitality, fierce sectional silverpoint competition, wonderful ambience of The Lakes Clubhouse, and tactful cheerful directing of Nancy Boyd.