Bridge Buzz
ACBL District 17 / Region 10
by Liz Hamilton
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.
John Lennon, 1940 –1980
Who was your favorite Beatle? Most of us can answer this question quickly. Lennon, as you know, was a singer, songwriter, and peace activist. His music is incredible but his observations about life are very compelling too. Most of us have life experiences that were not planned. The quote can apply to many aspects of our lives but it also describes the world of bridge.
The pandemic certainly can be described by the quote above and every bridge event seems to be measured against the pre-pandemic numbers. Will we ever get back to those levels of participation? Who knows, but it is important to keep introducing people to this amazing game and hope that new players will join us. In 2025 both our online play and our face-to-face play bring unique challenges and both need to be nurtured so that our game can thrive in the future.
In January 2025, the Albuquerque Regional attracted lots of players. The local volunteer team was incredibly hospitable and the new location was really welcoming. Changing venues was not in the original plan for this tournament but when it happened, the local committee embraced the challenge and the end result was amazing!
Congratulations Albuquerque! (This article was written before Tucson.) Looking forward to the next one!
This was the first of four Regionals that will be offered in D17 in 2025. The others are Tucson (late February), Denver (May), and Phoenix (August). All of these tournaments have talented Tournament Chairs and great volunteer committees. As the quote above reminds us, life can pull us in many directions but making time to attend a tournament and meet up with old and new friends really does enrich our journey.
There is a lot happening in D17. In January we had STaC events in our clubs and qualifying games for the GNTs (Grand National Teams). The district GNT finals will be held at the Denver Regional in May. It really is fun to watch players at all levels compete. Placing in this competition entitles players to participate in the National finals at the next summer NABC. If you have done that, you have shared in the excitement. If you have not, don’t miss the opportunity to experience this fun competition no matter your playing level. There is a place for everyone and more detailed information can be found in this BUZZ and on the D17 website (www.d17acbl.org)
The D17 board met at the Albuquerque Regional. The minutes of the meeting are posted on the D17 website if you want more details about our programs and tournaments. At the board meeting, the board appointed a tournament chair for the 2027 Summer Las Vegas NABC. That honor is going to Jack Shoemaker, the president of the Tucson Unit and a very experienced chair of Regionals and Sectionals in D17. Congratulations Jack!
The next board meeting will be at the Denver Regional in May. That is an opportunity to interact with all board members and share your thoughts with your district representatives. New ideas and perspectives are always welcome and worth discussing.
Life for most of us is busy and circumstances can change rapidly. Play bridge to keep your mind sharp and keep building those friendships and partnerships that will sustain us as life throws us some curve balls now and then. It helps us cope and makes us stronger.
Stay healthy and hopefully our paths will cross at the bridge table! Safe travels wherever your journey takes you.
Liz Hamilton
415-994-3527
Cindy Shoemaker, who has been editing the Bridge Buzz and maintaining the D17 website for a number of years, has resigned from those jobs in order to focus on her national board responsibilities. (Cindy is the Region 10 representative to the national ACBL board.) We will still get Cindy's reports from the national board. Thank you, Cindy, for your work for D17. (That's Cindy over to your right.)
Taking over for Cindy on the D17 website is Sharon Smith from Steamboat Springs, who is the Colorado-at-large member of the D17 board. And I am taking over for Cindy on the Bridge Buzz. I'm Margaret Devere, a bridge player from Unit 361 in Denver. Please send me comments, corrections, or suggestions as you see the need or feel the urge. You can reach me at BridgeBuzzEditor@gmail.com.
by Sharon Smith
Jump Start Bridge hosted a booth at the Arizona Gifted Conference. Thirty teachers across Arizona signed up to teach bridge in the classroom! Many thanks to the fabulous volunteers who joined me at the event: Linda Thieken (organizer), Julie Bosserman, Mari Reddin, Debbie Reichow, Marianne Victor, and Mary Beth Volderding. The booth featured two bridge tables and many games of Bridge War were played over the two days. It you have not tried Bridge War to introduce new players, give it a try!
Nationwide, Jump Start Bridge success continues to grow as booths are hosted at conferences where teachers are looking for enrichment curriculum. Donations are welcomed and needed! More information is available on the Jump Start Bridge website.
Attention Bridge Teachers: As the spring approaches, please send me your class information to add to the Find a Class calendar on the D17 website. Colorado Springs is hosting a Bridge in a Day event on March 22nd.
Sharon Smith
D17 Education Chair
Toby McEvoy served as a member of the LVNABC Committee in 2019 and 2024. He Co-Chaired the I/N program on both occasions. This required him to take time off from his primary employment. He did an outstanding job at both NABCs.
Toby is a strong supporter of newer players and he runs a club in Las Vegas one day a week with his partner Chris Hahn. He also teaches classes in his home and he always has time to coach and assist his students as they seek to increase their Masterpoints. Congratulations Toby!
Marion Brum de Barros is an outstanding volunteer. She has been a key member of the Denver Regional Team and she has chaired the Prize Desk at the LVNABC in fall 2024. After Covid, she was in charge of verifying vaccinations at the Denver regional and put together a team to make the process as easy as possible for the players. She is an amazing project manager and an excellent team player. Congratulations Marion!
Gary Howell is a dedicated member of the Adobe Bridge Center. He fosters a positive and welcoming environment, and uses his passion for bridge to give back to the wider Tucson community. Gary is the Treasurer of the Rincon Optimists Club, a 70-year-old organization focused on serving youth. As Treasurer, he plays a vital role in ensuring the financial stability and sustainability of the club's numerous programs. He is actively involved in "Shoe Day," which provides new shoes and socks to underprivileged children.
Kay Brock
I am the 2025–2027 ACBL District 17 representative for eastern Colorado Units 360 and 363. I joined ACBL in Austin, Texas in 2016 where I took several bridge classes. I joined Unit 360 in 2019 after I retired from my job as an attorney and moved to Colorado Springs. I took more bridge classes in Colorado and began to play more often. My current ACBL ranking is Advanced NABC Master; I expect to complete the requirements for Life Master in 2025.
I have served the ACBL in many capacities. I helped run multiple Unit 360 sectional tournaments and have served as a local tournament co-chair, reservations chair, and partnership chair. I edited the Kibitzer, the Unit 360 newsletter, for three years, from January 2021 through January 2024, and I served on the Unit 360 Board of Directors in 2023 and 2024. My background as an attorney was helpful in this regard, and I advised the Unit 360 Board on various legal matters including game directors’ leases, insurance policies, and possible revisions to Unit 360’s Bylaws. Unit 360 was in need of more game directors because we lost several long-time directors to moves and illness. To help with this problem, I obtained my ACBL game director’s certification in November 2023 and have served as a substitute director for Unit 360 games since then as needed.
I am excited to join the District 17 Board and am already serving on the Regional Tournament Committee. ACBL is very important to me. Bridge is so much more than a game. It gives me mental challenges, fun competition, a feeling of accomplishment, and continued opportunities to learn and practice tact, patience, and tolerance. The members of ACBL are my extended family. Wherever I go, I know I can find a welcoming group of intelligent and interesting people with whom I will become friends. I look forward to continuing my bridge journey with ACBL for many years.
Perry Van Hook
I started playing bridge in a game that college friends had at lunch in Kirchhoff Hall (UCLA). That quickly led to finding the Westwood Bridge Club where most of the top players in Los Angeles played at least once or twice a month. From there I was hooked.
That was probably in 1966. My first tournament of any kind was the Seattle Nationals where I ingratiated myself to Hermine Baron by offering to take here for a walk in her wheelchair outside the hotel, and promptly scared her to death when I almost turned the chair over on the hilly street. I met a lot of the great older players in the game. It was a great time for the game.
I was a life master by 1969 and my first wife and our friends played almost every weekend in some local sectional in the area. I continued playing as work would allow into the late 90s when I met my third wife online. She was not a bridge player, and in deference to her wishes I stopped playing for twenty-three years. She was right to the degree that it would be one more thing that one of us was doing without the other. When she passed in 2022, bridge was still there waiting for me and I love playing and seeing friends I have known at the tournaments for over fifty years.
National NAP Finalists from D17
Congratulations to the players representing District 17 in this year’s spring NABC NAP finals.
Flight A:
Gayle Covey and Steven Devico
Cindy Harris and Joe Harris
Douglas Fjare and Josh Donn
Flight B:
Chris Dorton and Shari Dorton
Ronald Mahoney and William Kenney
Kevin Stansbury and Wilt Cooper
Eric Heinrich and Stan Weinstein
Flight C:
Joe Hildebrand and Tim Hurley
John Farbarik and Allen Ettinger
Rosy Agrawal and Pawan Agrawal
Good luck to you all!
What Are NAPs Anyway?
No, not this type of NAP, although many of us enjoy these too! The North American Pairs qualifying period starts soon, and it is open to you.
What are the North American Pairs (NAPs)?
The North American Pairs event begins at your local clubs. If you qualify at a club, you can play in the District 17 NAP finals, which will be held after the qualifying period ends (site TBD). The top pairs at the district finals qualify to represent District 17 at the Spring NABC in 2026.
Why should I play in the NAPs?
It is a prestigious event open only to ACBL members. You have the opportunity to play against your peers and participate in a national event. Also, a stipend to attend the NABC is awarded by the ACBL to the top finishers.
As a C player, would I be in over my head playing in the NAPs?
No. At the club level you may play against all levels of players, or you may play in a limited event – it depends on the game your club runs. However, you will be flighted if you play in an open event. The District Finals and the NABC Finals are all flighted. The flights are based on the player with the most masterpoints – the flights are not averaged. Here are the flights:
- Championship Flight: open to all players
- Flight A: 0–6000 masterpoints
- Flight B: 0–3000 masterpoints
- Flight C: 0–750 masterpoints
What happens if I move from one flight to the next before the District 17 finals?
Your masterpoint total as of June 1, 2025 is used to determine your qualifying flight. Since masterpoints are calculated on the 6th of each month, this means the masterpoint total you have on May 7th, 2025 will be used. Any points you acquire between May 7 and the end of the qualification period will not count in your qualifying flight.
When is the qualifying period?
Qualifying takes place from June 1, 2025 to August 31, 2025.
Did You Qualify?
by Julie Clark
NAP and GNT Coordinator
Come and join us at the Rocky Mountain Regional if you are Flight A, B, or C and qualified to play in the District 17 GNT Finals. What a great opportunity to win gold and red points! The district finals will be held May 24th and 25th at the Rocky Mountain Regional in Denver. Win your flight and you can represent District 17 at the NABC in Philadelphia this summer.
The Championship Flight will hold the District 17 finals online (using BBO) on April 4th and 5th. Last year’s District 17 Championship team – Billy Miller, Brad Moss, Bobby Levin, Geoff Hampson and Roger Lee, captained by Alan Schreiber – won the NABC Finals. Let’s see if we can repeat that impressive feat!
To see if you qualified, click this link: Grand National Teams - ACBL District 17
If you think you qualified and are not listed, or if you have any other questions, please contact Julie Clark at jclark9811@comcast.net or 303-981-5230.
