Our bridge club games are sanctioned by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and directed by a staff of professionals. The Bridge Deck Club is easily accessed from Naples and Marco Island located at the parish hall of St. Peter the Apostle Church, 5130 Rattlesnake Hammock. For more information please call (239) 262.5334 or send us an e-mail via our contact form.
In addition to earning ACBL masterpoints by playing duplicate bridge, the Bridge Deck Club has now added "club points" that could earn you a free game! Starting January 2nd, every player who comes to play duplicate at Bridge Deck Club will receive 2 club points for attendance. If you win your section, you receive 5 club points; B and C players will receive one point extra for everyone they beat in a higher strat than theirs. Therefore, if a C player wins first place in A, they would win five points plus get one extra point for everyone playing that day in A and B strats. A free game is earned when you receive 100 club points; these points earned are good for 90 days. Director Tom Urso installed this system at his former club in Philadelphia and it was quite popular. Tom has now added the software to the Bridge Deck Club's computer and it will automatically award, accumulate and remove points after they are used or 90 days have passed. Start your New Year off right and earn lots of "club points" as well as ACBL masterpoints!
Newsletter
BRIDGE DECK CLUB OF NAPLES
December 2011 Editor – Liz Saxon
Happy Holidays to one and all as another year draws to a close and we look forward to welcoming in 2012! Once again, the annual meeting/Christmas party at Eagle Creek was a smashing success with 20 tables of bridge after an elegant lunch. Thank you Anne O’Connell for all your hard work, it was a truly lovely event.
Betty Barterand Glenda Armstrong who have been co-presidents the past year reported on various club improvements – the dealing machine, card tables, new boards (donated by Bob Parlin), new cards, a computer (donated by Tom Urso), and cup holders which are in the works. Much of this was paid for by 50-50 club money donated by members during 2011. 2011 also saw the addition of a new NLM-Srs Sectional in April as well as the regular sectional in June; the addition of a Saturday morning 299er game with lessons by Ron and Joy Schick; chalk talks given by different members on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and a mentor/protégé game on Thursdays to let 299ers play with a more experienced player. The co-presidents thanked a long list of members for various contributions to the club; the slate of candidates for the 2012 Board of Governors was submitted and unanimously voted upon. The new Board of Governors includes Ken Dixon, president; Glenda and Betty as co-vice presidents; Ellie Goodrich as treasurer; Jean Jensen as secretary; Janet Dixon partnership with Syd Blum assisting her; Nancy Trice, Tom Urso and Syd Blum as members at large. Wayne Goodrich continues as Club Manager.
Education
Marcia Reff will finish her Defense lessons on January 9 and start the “new” course of lessons on Monday, January 16 from 9am to 11:30 am. Call 239-775-8460. The new set will focus on people who currently play social bridge or are new duplicate players and want to learn a modernized version of Standard American using the yellow card as the model. (See lessons section of the website for more info.) Joanna Sarkisian will begin her set of lessons for beginners on Wednesday, January 18th. All lessons will cost $12 each. Bob Parlin is planning a series of chalk talks on Tuesdays in January from 12 noon to 12:30 pm prior to the Tuesday game. There is no charge for chalk talks.
Mentor/Protégé Game and Saturday Game
On Thursdays in February, the Mentor/Protégé game will restart – all non-life masters who wish to play with a more experienced mentor should sign up at the club. Persons who wish to play with their regular partner may do so. Finally, the Saturday 299er lessons by Joy Schick will resume January 7, followed by a regular game at 11 am. This year lunch will not be included – participants should bring their own sandwich – the game will end between 2:30 and 3 pm.
Membership– Betty Barter and Ellie Goodrich are currently accepting renewals and new membership applications for 2012. All applications received prior to January 31st will be in the new Directory to be published in February. The cost is $25 per person to renew membership and $35 if you are a new member (to pay for the name tag). The cost of regular daily games is $7 if you are a member and $9 if you are not a member.
Finally, STaC week (Sectional Tournament at Clubs) is upon us beginning December 12 – 18th. It costs a little extra to participate but you can win silver points playing in your regular club game, and, if you have a great game, perhaps make the unit-wide overall rankings which are worth more silver points.
The Orlando Winter Regional starts January 2-8, 2012 at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel (across from downtown Disney). The Sarasota-Manatee Regional is February 20-26th at the Manatee Convention Center in Palmetto, FL. These are excellent events to win red and gold points. Check the convention programs in the Sunshine Bridge News (November/December issue) or go to the ACBL website or District 9 or Unit 128 websites for more information.
Congratulations! Three members of Bridge Deck Club achieved Gold Life Master Status (2500+ MPs) in 2011. They are Ed Kemnitzer, Julie Van Stone and Joan Volkheimer.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We now have a data base of e-mail addresses for more than 75% of the membership, plus some additional non-members who play at our club. We will be delivering the newsletter electronically as well as periodic special announcements. If you have e-mail and would like to be included in this, please speak to Ellie Goodrich, Liz or Jim Saxon.
PARTNERSHIPS – Please call Janet Dixon at 331-8803 or Syd Blum 450-3246 if you need a partner for a particular day, but be sure to let them know in advance if you find one on your own. By the same token, if you are available to play and willing to come at the last minute, please tell Janet or Ellie.
Bridge teacher and author Joy Schick restarts her popular lessons for 299ers on Saturday, Jan. 7th at 9:45 am. The lesson will be followed by a 299er game at 11 am, ending at 2:30 pm. Attendees should bring their own lunch. The Club will provide coffee, tea and snacks. Cost of the lesson and the game is $10 per person. It is not necessary to bring your own partner for the game. The Director will pair up attendees.
On December 2nd and 3rd, the Naples Bridge Center will hold a Naples 299er Sectional providing silver points. Bridge Deck Club will not hold its Saturday 299er event on that day, but will hold its regular open game on Friday at 1 pm and a special open game on Saturday at 11 am. Persons with less than 300 mps should attend the Naples Bridge Center tournament on that Friday and Saturday.
Shell Coast Bridge Unit
As you read this article a petition is underway to form a new ACBL bridge unit in southwest Florida, entitled Shell Coast Bridge Association. We need half of the almost 2100 ACBL members living in the zipcodes submitted to ACBL to sign the petition for it to be accepted. A new unit would then be formed, bringing the number of units in Florida to six and giving sw Florida (Marco Island north to Venice) its own local Board of Directors, control of its own sectionals and educational bridge programs. Unit 128 (our current unit) is bigger than any other district in the United States with currently 14,000+ members of the 19,667 ACBL members in all of Florida. Shell Coast believes a smaller, more geographically compact unit focused on specific SW Florida bridge needs will improve the quality of bridge in our area, change tournament formats to fit our needs and look at rebates and revenue-sharing for local clubs that close for other clubs' tournaments. Your help is needed to create our unit. We ask you to click on the link below, print and sign your name, ACBL number and zipcode and date at the bottom of this form. Mailing directions are on the printed copy of the petition. Thank you for your help.
Click on this link to print a petition for Shell Coast Bridge Unit
Editor’s Note: Petitions should be available at your local bridge club. Signing this petition will in no way affect your regular duplicate bridge game – down the road it will enable SW Florida to better organize educational programs and sectional tournaments in the area. If your club does not have any petitions please have them contact Val or Rick Covalciuc, at valerierick@comcast.net or lizsaxon@yahoo.com for more information.