POSTED MAY 27TH
MOBridge Online Update – May 26
Silver Linings Week - May 25 to May 31
Silver Points will be awarded for all virtual club games at a rate of
3 times the regular rate. (Does not apply for SYC games)
Thank you to Unit 166 for covering the additional table fees.
We’ve had a great start to the week with table count up by 33%
PLAYING IN LIMITED GAMES – In order to play in limited games on BBO, every player must have an ACBL number. This is the only way for BBO to be able to verify if you are eligible. If you are not interested in becoming a full-time member you can get a temporary membership for $9.95 which is valid for 30 days in the face to face (F2F) club but will not expire in the BBO virtual club. Open the link below, register and pay. Once you have your ACBL number you can log in to BBO / click ACBL World / click Update ACBL Number, at the bottom of the page. You will then no longer be blocked from limited games.
https://my.acbl.org/membership/join?club=207860
Please note you do not require an ACBL number to play in Open virtual club games and you will not receive Masterpoints.
PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME IN YOUR PROFILE. This is a VIRTUAL Club. That means it is comprised of players who play in these games all the time. Anonymity is not an option. It is the same as going to MOBridge and playing. You don’t get to wear a bag over your head at the club and the same applies here.
If you go to your ACCOUNT tab and look for the heading that says PROFILE, click on that and where it says REAL NAME, please enter your real name. Thank you for your cooperation.
CONVENTION CARDS. Everyone should have a completed convention card. BBO offers a couple of standard templates that are very easy to modify. There is also a video on the BBO website outlining the steps to complete a card. It only takes a few minutes. In addition, if you provide a brief summary along with your carding in your profile under the “other” heading your opponents will be most grateful.
BE AWARE that BBO has algorithms in place to detect unusual results. Should persons be identified by this software, they will be monitored online and measures will be taken to ensure that such unethical practices cannot continue. If unethical behaviour is found and confirmed the player will risk being expelled from the ACBL. And that means all ACBL games, online or otherwise.
Please continue to provide us feedback and we will strive to meet your bridge needs.
Partnership Desk – Please send us an email if you are looking for a partner or consider joining the partnership desk for any of our games. You will often find other club members looking for a game or the Director may call on you to fill a half table.
Our results and game hand records are now available on the MOBridge website. Please remember that your MP awards are 1.5 times the reported BBO award (with the exception of the Silver Linings Week promotion – which is 3x). You can also find club results on ACBL live. https://my.acbl.org/club-results/207860
There are many more exciting things planned for the near future so come on out and play. We will be more than happy to help you get started. Please email the club at mail@mobridge.club and someone will reach out to help you.
POSTED MAY 24TH
President’s Update
May 24, 2020
Fellow Members,
While there is some reason for optimism as the rate of new Covid-19 cases in Ontario has plateaued and more than half are now declared cured, there is still no clear view when we might open the Club for play. Golf courses and tennis courts are opening. But social distancing continues to be required. We continue to monitor the situation very closely and will keep you informed as more information is made available.
A consequence of the closing has been the postponement of our Annual General Meeting (AGM), originally scheduled for May 12th. The Board has decided to set a new date – July 21st. If by some surprising development we are open, it will be the usual social followed by the AGM agenda and an Open game. If not, we will hold a virtual AGM using ZOOM. Our regular BBO virtual club game will also be Open for this date.
We are incredibly pleased that so many of our members have been playing online at the Bridgebase.com site. Our virtual club table count for April was 241, plus many Support Your Club (SYC) tables, that we share with other clubs, where our members normally play. This is down from last year (502), but May will be well above the April level. If you have not tried online bridge, this week is a good time to start with triple Silver Points for all Club games from May 25-31. And the good news is there are no extra fees for Club members. If you need help getting started, there is ample information on our website under the BBO & ONLINE INFORMATION tab.
Early on we made a commitment to provide opportunities at all levels of experience. The limited games are being well attended with up to 17 tables and we have added beginner games (<20). To encourage a stronger turnout for the open games, Tuesday’s Open game is now at 9:30 am.
We have given the Club’s online presence a modest refresh. Have a look. We started with a number of smaller tweaks, while we design some of the more ambitious changes. The website has the full schedule and you can now keep up with the results of each game, again thanks to Cathy Kinsella’s hard work. Kudos to Rick Wilson and Catherine Colburn for getting this work done so promptly.
We now have a much better view of the impact on our finances as a result of the Covid-19 suspension of play. As you will recall from my last update, the revenue from the SYC and virtual club games is shared with MOBridge. We expect a small deficit for April, and a balanced net position for May. The Club contingency fund is more than adequate to cover this shortfall.
Last Thursday, the Board of Directors held our May virtual meeting. In addition to the above, key items decided were:
- Negotiations on the lease continues to be on hold, given the market uncertainty
- We are still in need of some Board nominations to fill vacancies as three members have completed their 2-year terms – please consider applying
- We are working to have Marty Bergen’s educational materials offered through our site
Good luck adding to your points balance during the upcoming Silver Linings week. We all look forward to the day when restrictions are safely lifted so we can enjoy friendly, competitive, face-to-face bridge at the Club again.
STAY SAFE!
On behalf of the Board,
Paul Inglis
President
POSTED MAY 17TH
MOBridge Online Update – May 17
We exceeded our weekly table target (again!)
We had excellent attendance with 5 tables for our brand new 0-20 game on Tuesday night!
ACBL has introduced a new “Guest Policy” that allows members to bring a guest from another club. There are however, limits to how many guests each club is allowed. Members of Etobicoke, Rainbow and Halton are all fully eligible to play at MOBridge at any time.
BBO System Improvements: In order to improve performance, BBO has separated the competitive virtual clubs from the casual/social bridge games. Each section will run on its own server. As a player, you will not notice a difference on the website with the exception that if you are waiting for a game to start and you are on the casual side playing solitaire, BBO will consider you offline and not bring you into the game when it starts. Everyone registered for a tournament must be online in the competitive bridge area at least 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the game.
Please continue to provide us feedback and we will strive to meet your bridge needs.
Silver Linings Week - May 25 - 31
Silver Points will be awarded for all virtual club games at a rate of 3 times the regular rate.
(Does not apply for SYC games.)
Thank you to Unit 166 for covering the additional table fees!
Partnership Desk – please send us an email if you are looking for a partner or consider joining the partnership desk for any of our games. You will often find other club members looking for a game or the Director may call on you to fill a half table.
Our results and game hand records are now available on the MOBridge website. Please remember that your MP awards are 1.5 times the reported BBO award.
There are many more exciting things planned for the near future so come on out and play. We will be more than happy to help you get started. Please email the club at mail@mobridge.club and someone will reach out to help you.
POSTED MAY 11TH
MISCELLANEOUS
There’s lots of great reading about local people and events, and especially related to this new world of online bridge, in the latest Unit 166 Kibitzer.
MOBridge congratulates Steve Overholt, (owner/operator of the Etobicoke Bridge Centre), winner of the prestigious 2020 Kate Buckman award, for our unit, as ‘the person who has contributed most to others’ enjoyment of the game’. Steve regularly plays in our Saturday Open game. Most recently, Steve graciously encouraged his membership to participate in MOBridge’s online games. Many of us have been the beneficiaries of Steve’s contributions and generosity to his students and the game. Congratulations Steve!
REMINDER
Please consider putting your name forward for
MOBridge’s Board of Directors.
Deadline is June 1st.
See April 26th post below for details.
MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS APRIL 1 - 30, 2020
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!
| New Junior Master |
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New Club Master |
| Elizabeth Wong |
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Nita Naik |
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| New Sectional Master |
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New Regional Master |
| Heather Overland-Bonk |
|
Jay Hamann |
| Evelyn Sloane |
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| Michael Young |
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| New Advanced NABC Master |
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New Bronze Life Master |
| Yale Zhong |
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Cindy Osselton |
POSTED MAY 9TH
INVITE A FRIEND - SUPPORT MOBRIDGE
MOBridge sponsors a 0-1000 MP game on Sundays at 1:15 pm online at BridgeBase.com. Playing at BBO is fun, inexpensive, and easy to learn. Click here for BridgeBase.com.
This is a regular weekly game, so if you have a regular partner please come and join us.
If however you know someone who hasn’t tried online bridge for whatever reason or you play online and haven’t seen a member you would enjoy playing with, let’s invite these people to the game next Sunday. Your participation helps MOBridge financially as well as keeping our membership strong.
There are several videos on the BBO website to teach you how to login and play.
Just a reminder if you are planning to play in this game and are new to BBO you must register your screen name in advance with the director at mail@mobridge.club. Please do this at least 30 minutes before game time to avoid possible disappointment.
Thank you and hope to see many of you there. If you need any additional information or assistance in finding a partner email Rory Ryan.
POSTED APRIL 26TH
Invitation to join the MOBridge Board of Directors
The first four plus years of the club’s operations have been busy and very rewarding. The club is now successfully up and running, growing in membership, table counts and, more importantly, has a sense of community. We are now the busiest bridge club in Canada!
The Board of Directors sets policy, manages and oversees the operations of our non-profit club serving over 500 members. While there is still plenty to do, the time required to be a Board member has stabilized and should be manageable for anyone interested in contributing to the club in this way. The board consists of seven directors who serve a two-year term. There are three Director positions up for election in 2020.
We need people who would like to draw on their experience and life skills to continue building a home for friendly, competitive bridge in our community. Our current 2020 plans are posted on the website or ask any of our current Board members for more information. What are some of the key priorities for the upcoming year?
- Getting the Club back up and running after the Covid-19 pandemic
- Continuing to provide a high level of service through a broad range of games that appeal to all levels of player
- Strengthening our administrative systems, practices and internal communications
- Renegotiating our lease, or if necessary, identifying a suitable alternative
How can you contribute? If you have experience or skills in any of the following areas, please consider volunteering:
- Business / administrative systems / financial management
- Marketing / communications / public relations
- Board governance – policy, oversight, accountability in a non-profit context
- Strategic / operational planning
- General management (this is a working board)
- Technology / web management
- Organizing / networking
- Enlisting / coordinating volunteers
Want to place your name on the ballot? Please click here to complete the form, save it, and return it to mail@mobridge.club, by June 1, 2020. We will be posting information about each of the candidates in advance of the Annual General Meeting, date to be announced once we reopen.
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