Bridge Buzz
ACBL District 17 / Region 10
Sharon Smith
In Colorado, summer is slow to arrive, and The Longest Day arrives in the same week! Summer is a great time for rejuvenation. I challenge you to plant bridge learning or activity "seeds" this summer and watch them grow and mature over the year! The "seed" could be personal bridge education or volunteer work to grow the game and encourage newer players. Or, you could simply continue to be great sports and show up for games!
The Denver Regional was a wonderful success. It is inspiring to see the great sportsmanship and excellent play by players of all levels in District 17. Look for news below about the Grand National Teams (GNT) D17 finals and the upcoming North American Pairs (NAP) qualifying season. These two grass-roots events are special because players win elevated points at the club, unit, or District level. Top District winners represent D17 at the national finals. Play and qualify in a NAP Qualifier game before the end of August and compete in Albuquerque in January in the D17 finals!
The District 17 board met in May. (See below for highlights.) Our board is collaborative, energetic, and focused on the best future for District 17 bridge! Our next meeting will be at the Phoenix Desert Empire Regional in August.
In 2026 regional news:
- Mark your calendar for the 2026 Albuquerque Regional. Still in January, but a week earlier than previously, and in a great new location.
- The 2026 Tucson regional has moved to April, and will be held at a new facility with new lodging options.
Plan to join us.
The District 17 website (d17acbl.org) has pages of useful information, archives, and competition rules. We are still looking for volunteers to assist in keeping it current. Please contact Sharon if you are interested.
Thank you for the support you give the board and for the opportunity to represent wonderful players!
Jump Start Bridge
Kelly Wawrzynek, Sally Ann Rhea, and Sharon Smith hosted a Jump Start Bridge booth at the Colorado Math Teachers Conference in Thornton, CO, in June. Twelve teachers enrolled, and over twenty more indicated a strong interest and plan to enroll once the school year starts.
The Jump Start Bridge program now includes a Spanish version and a curriculum for a second series. Eventually there will be four curriculum sets available.
Nationwide, youth camps and youth tournaments are beginning to happen and we are receiving fabulous reports. If your club would like to host an open house, a youth tournament, or a youth summer camp, let Sharon know.
Inspired by the recent article in another Denver neighborhood newsletter, Sally Kneser contributed a bridge article to the Villager, a newsletter for south metro Denver neighborhoods.
Sally is a long-time bridge teacher in Denver, and a former recipient of the Jan Janitschke Award, which recognizes significant contributions to education and player development in Unit 361.
Click here to have a look.
by Kitty Larson
D17 Election Secretary
Three D17 Board of Director seats are up for election this fall:
- Arizona At Large, Units 355 and 358. Bill Phillips is not running for reelection.
- Tucson, Unit 356. Steve Reynolds is not running for reelection.
- Las Vegas, Unit 363. The incumbent, Toby McEvoy, is standing for reelection.
The term of office to serve on the D17 Board is three years, commencing on January 1.
District board members are elected by unit boards. This cycle's election must occur before November 1, 2025.
If you are interested in running for one of these board positions, you must be an ACBL member in good standing and a member of the unit(s) that you are seeking to represent on the D17 Board.
Candidates must submit a Statement of Declaration to the D17 Election Secretary, Kitty Larson (kittysocceretc@gmail.com), and to the President(s) of the respective Unit(s) before August 31, 2025.
by Julie Clark
D17 GNT/NAP Coordinator
It’s that time of year again! The North American Pairs qualifying games are underway at your local clubs.
What exactly are the NAPs?
The North American Pairs is a grass-roots competition where each District selects representatives to compete at the Spring North American Bridge Championships (NABC). The event begins with qualifying games in clubs during June, July, and August.
Players who qualify at the club are eligible to compete in the District 17 Finals. Those events will be held at the 2026 Albuquerque Regional. The Championship Flight and Flight B finals will be held on Friday, January 16th. Flights A and C finals will be held on Saturday, January 17th. Plan now to attend the wonderful regional and participate in this elite event.
Financial subsidies ($700 for first-place and $300 for second-place) are provided by the ACBL to offset the cost of travel to the NABC. Additionally, District 17 pays $200 for the third-place pair in all flights and $100 for the fourth-place pair in Flights B and C.
The competition is divided into four separate flights, based on masterpoint (MP) levels, so players of all levels of experience have the opportunity to compete and represent their District in the National competition. The Flights are listed below:
- Championship Flight: Open to any player
- Flight A: less than 6000 masterpoints
- Flight B: less than 3000 masterpoints
- Flight C: Non-Life Masters with fewer than 750 masterpoints
If you qualify in a higher flight than your masterpoint total, you are automatically qualified for your flight as well.
Please ask your club owners to host a qualifying game if you have not yet had the opportunity to qualify.
District 17’s Conditions of Contest are currently being approved by the ACBL. Once they are finalized, a copy will be placed on the district’s website. Until then, you can view the ACBL National Conditions of Contest by clicking on the link below:
https://web2.acbl.org/documentlibrary/play/NAP/CoC.pdf
Any questions? Please contact Julie Clark at jclark9811@comcast.net or 303-981-5230.
by Bob Wagstaff
President, Unit 360
Colorado Springs Unit 360 recently honored Jeanne Downing, who was soon to celebrate her 100th birthday. Jeanne has been a long-time member of Unit 360, playing weekly in both the social and duplicate games at the Colorado Springs Bridge Center.
Jeanne says that she first was exposed to bridge by her mother and her grandmother, who played weekly at home and with an Eastern Star women’s game. At an early age, Jeanne was asked to substitute in both games.
Like many people, when Jeanne left home she stopped playing bridge. She returned to the game a few years later and has been playing ever since.
Happy Birthday, Jeanne!
At the recent Denver Regional, ACBL Director Melody Euler gave a talk about several common occurrences at the bridge table, what the laws specify, and how to utilize the directors effectively.
Melody has given permission for the talk to be turned into a short paper and published, and so we did. Click here to have a look.
by Bonnie Bagley
D17 STaC Coordinator
Much appreciation goes to the club owners and players who participated in the D17 Summer Fun Royal STaC!
There were 897.5 tables in play with 2730.86 Masterpoints awarded to 1276 out of 3590 participants. Congratulations to William Kass of Albuquerque, NM, the top masterpoint winner!
Here are the top ten.
Kitty Larson
When we moved to Corvallis, OR in 1982, the first friends we made in our new community were all duplicate bridge players. Although I had not played duplicate bridge, I was an avid card player, so I jumped in! Soon club games and tournaments lost out to three children, three interstate moves, and ownership of a retail store. I ended up taking a 25-year hiatus from bridge while tending to family and work.
Moving to Arizona in 2008, and mostly retired, I came back to bridge initially to meet people. While bridge challenges the mind and sharpens strategic thinking, it also fosters a wonderful sense of community. It was this bridge community that soon asked me to serve on the Unit 351 Board. I served for nine years in several positions ranging from chairing the Senior Roadrunner Tournament to Unit President.
When the District 17 Board position became vacant, I ran, with a strong feeling that I could well represent Unit 351. Since joining the D17 Board, I have worked where help was needed, serving as the Elections Secretary and Grant Chair during the past two years.
Outside of bridge, I continue to have a strong focus on my family, including my two young grandchildren. I am also passionate about strengthening our local community. I have volunteered for and served on the Board of a local nonprofit organization that reaches out to the underprivileged and underserved. The organization also runs a thrift store, so my days are full, with morning meetings and working in the store and several afternoons each week reserved for playing bridge!
Steve Reynolds
Editor's note: Steve kindly provided me with this photo of himself at a Greek festival in 1978, wearing a costume from Naousa Macedonia.
In 1968 I joined the Intersection Dancers, a professional folk dance group. One of my instructors was Pete Knee, bridge pro, teacher, and ACBL director. He invited me to watch him play and I was intrigued. The next night I went to kibitz and Pete’s partner had been in an auto accident, so I was given a convention card listing conventions that to this day I don’t know. Of course, who do we start against – Paul Soloway. I did manage to count 16 points and opened 1NT. Pete bid 2C. I had a lot of clubs, so I bid 5C, all pass. Paul asks Pete about my 5C. Pete, red as can be, says “He has a lot of clubs.” Making, of course, for a good result. Paul asks Pete just what the heck we are playing. This was my intro to bridge and as my partners will testify, I started at the top and have been steadily working my way down.
My background is math, physics, and chemistry. The summer I was 18, I worked for IBM Advanced Technology in San Jose. I graduated from USC and took math and computer sciences classes at Stanford. I moved to Tucson in 1981 and started to play bridge more seriously. I started to help set up tournaments and work on my general knowledge by taking the directors exam and becoming an ACBL certified teacher. In 2010 I was asked to take over as tournament chairman, and I did that for ten years. I was elected as District rep which I have done for over ten years. I have held numerous other positions at the club and unit level. It has been my honor to have served with so many extraordinary and talented people.
Professionally I’m a security engineer, but have been a commissioned police officer and a private investigator. I hold the CPP and CFE certifications. I have numerous published articles in Police Magazine and Security Management Magazine. I have been a speaker at COMSEC in Washington and hosted a national aerospace security conference.
Fun fact: My involvement in Greek dance led to my becoming the youngest director ever at Carnegie Hall when in 1974, I directed Mimis Plessas and Yiannis Poulopoulos.
by Kathy McMahon
I/N Chair, Unit 361
It's a big deal! Only one time a year, Unit 361 (Denver and environs) hosts the 499er Regional in conjunction with our Open Sectional – two tournaments, one location. This year the dates are Friday through Sunday, July 11–13, 2025. The tournament will be held at Iliff School of Theology, 2323 E. Iliff Avenue, Denver, CO 80210. To all non-life masters with fewer than 750 MPs: Come and compete for Red and Gold points.
There will be a free short bridge lesson between the morning and afternoon sessions on both Friday and Saturday, and overall winners of each game will receive prizes of new bridge books.
This is Denver's fourth year hosting this tournament, and each year it has grown. Be part of the fun and get the chance to WIN GOLD. It's an opportunity not to miss! Grab your favorite partner or search for a partner by logging on to the online partnership desk at http://tinyurl.com/DenverOnlinePartnershipDesk, or send an email to Kathy McMahon at IntermediateNovice@DenverBridge.org.
Click here for the flyer, and see you at the table!
