♠ ♥ Welcome to South Bend Bridge ♦ ♣
We are delighted to offer ACBL duplicate sanctioned games and several learning options. All are welcome!!
Please call ahead if you need a partner so we can make sure you get to play on the date you wish. Please note that it is in the Director's discretion to play with Walk-ins; their director duties and the efficient running of the game are of primary importance. ♥ ♥ ♥
Our games begin at 1pm, but you should arrive at least 15 minutes early in order to help the directors find an appropriate seat for all participants. Players with mobility issues should call ahead to request N/S seating. We offer free snacks & coffee, soda & water may be purchased for 75 cents. Donations are always welcome!
WHY LEARN BRIDGE
It's great for both sides of your brain, especially your working memory and reasoning! Every time you play, you use communication skills, logic, math, memory, visualization and psychology. Research has also shown that regular bridge playing also enhances physical health by stimulating the brain cortex which increases white blood cell production that helps fight disease. It's also a very social activity that emphasizes cooperation, ethics and sportsmanship. So come on down and join us! For more information on the benefits of playing bridge, please see the AARP article at www.aarp.org/health/brain/-health/info-2015/bridge-for-brain-health.html and the NIH study which calls bridge "mental exercise" at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pcm/articles/PCM10049287/.
HISTORY
Duplicate bridge has been played in many locations in the South Bend-Mishawaka area since the 1930’s. The South Bend Bridge Club (SBBC) united most of these groups as one club on October 31, 2005. On January 4, 2024, the South Bend Bridge Foundation was formed to encompass the expanded education component and the charitable nature of our mission; we support the ACBL's charitable Education Fund, Junior Fund and Longest Day (Alzheimer's research) Fund with our special games. We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization; your financial support is tax-deductible.
BRIDGE CLUB SCHEDULE
(See our Calendars menu):
Each week, we run two OPEN games (Mondays & Wednesdays) and two 299ER games on Mondays and Wednesdays. Open Swiss Team games run on the first and third Tuesdays, "Perfect Ten" Swiss games run on the second and fourth Tuesdays. Pro-Am games are held every Friday (Unlimited mps for pros on first & third Fridays, 1500mps max for pros on second & fourth Fridays. Our daily playing fee is $8 ($9 for special games) with non-members paying an extra $1 guest fee.
Open Games: Any player with any number of ACBL masterpoints may play.
299er Games: Each player must have fewer than 299 ACBL masterpoints to play in this section.
Senior Pairs Games: Any player born before 1/1/1960 may earn points in these games. [All level players may play]
Open Swiss Team: teams of four play against other teams of four, East-West plays the same team as their North-South partners and the same hands; the scores are then compared. Each team of four plays all other teams of four. Winner is declared after all teams have played each other.
Pro-Am Games: each newer player (fewer than 199 masterpoints) is paired with a seasoned player (200-1500 masterpoints on 2nd & 4th Fridays, Unlimited mps for pros on 1st & 3rd Fridays) to encourage newer players to learn from seasoned players; this is a duplicate pairs style game. Sign up sheets are on the rear wall at the bridge center with a column for Pros and another column for Amateurs. Partnerships is run by Cappy Gagnon. Goodies are provided!
Perfect Ten: Cappy Gagnon created this format and can assist in assembling teams. Each player is given an internal point ranking (1-4) based upon ability and ACBL points; then teams of four are created so that the total for each team is 10 points. This insures that none of the teams has an advantage by stacking with "3 or 4” level players. This game is played in the Swiss team format.
Magnificent Seven: a Swiss Team game based on combinations of masterpoints: over 1000 MPs is a 3, 300 to 999 is a 2, and fewer than 299 is a 1. There must be at least two 1s on a team, totaling no more than 7. Mag 7 will be offered every FIFTH TUESDAY. (This is similar to the Perfect Ten game). Sign-up sheets are on the north wall.
OWNERSHIP
We welcome all to join our club. We are owned by our members (116) who pay annual dues of $30.00.
The South Bend Bridge Foundation Inc., doing business as South Bend Bridge Club, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Please make your tax-deductible checks out to South Bend Bridge Foundation Inc. Our FEIN is 99-0528163. Our directors are happy to coordinate with your retirement account administrators to make Qualified Charitable Deductions from your IRAs. Your support is greatly appreciated!!
COMMUNICATION
We publish a monthly newsletter featuring honored players, game highlights, director’s rulings, bridge tips and the latest schedule of classes for students of all levels offered by our qualified teachers. We also furnish monthly calendars to our members.
SUPPORTED BY
The SBBC, an American Contract Bridge League affiliated club, is run by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members, with three elected at the September Annual Meeting to serve a three-year term. Each new board chooses its president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. The Board selects the Club Manager, who handles most of the organizational functions including reporting masterpoint totals for the prior month, year to date, and lifetime, for all of our members. Our directors are ACBL certified, and they meet regularly to work for the improvement of our playing conditions.
OTHER PARTICIPATION
SBBC participates in The Common Game, sponsored by ACBL District Nine (Florida). We use the Bridge Mate scoring system and can produce hand records. All of our results and hand records are available on the Bridgewebs.com/southbend under the "Results" tab, under ACBL and The Common Game website links.
We have joined SE Carolina Collective of over 200 bridge clubs in the US and Canada. The Collective runs 16 games per day on BBO. You can search for the Collective games on BBO by going to "Virtual Clubs", then "ACBL North America" then "se" in search area. Our Club receives a % of the tournament fee each player pays. Please play the SE Carolina tournaments when you cannot play face to face at SBBC.
The South Bend Bridge Center is located at 2436 Miracle Lane, Town & Country Shopping Center, Mishawaka IN 46545. The Center is next door to Cosimo & Susie’s Restaurant, at the north end of the Town & Country Shopping Center. Our e-mail address is southbendbridge@gmail.com & our phone number is 574-255-6613.
♥ We welcome all visitors and encourage new players to join us.♥
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