It is strongly recommended that you start your SBBC bridge experience by taking a series of classes. If you have never played before, or it has been many years since you last played bridge, you will need to know all the modern bidding systems. The class schedule can be found in the newsletter. If you are not sure where to start, talk with Marty Martin, our club manager, and she will help you assess your level of current knowledge.
South Bend Bridge also partners with the Forever Learning Institute for beginner lessons. Please see the Forever Learning schedule for beginner classes. https://foreverlearninginstitute.org/
For beginners who have completed the Forever Learning Institute's 'Beginner Bridge' course, Cappy Gagnon and Tom Hebron teach on Tuesdays 10-12pm. All are welcome, including those who would like to brush up on some aspects of their game. The first hour is a lesson and the second is playing premade hands. Four mentors/buddies also assist beginners with their hands. If you would like to know what topic will be covered in the next class or to sign up for a class, please email Cappy (cappygagnon@comcast.net) by the Sunday before the lesson.
One of the great advantages of classes is meeting other new members who might become playing partners. A good partnership is an important key to happy and successful bridge playing. We also offer a quarterly Pro-Am game through which beginners are paired with seasoned players. The Perfect Ten Swiss game on the third Tuesday of each month also pairs newer players with seasoned players in a Swiss Team format. These are excellent ways to practice what you've learned and to learn strategies from seasoned players.
Classes for advanced beginners and intermediates are offered every Monday (except the last Monday of the month) from 9:30-11:30 by Jo Ann Steigmeyer. Partners are not necessary. After a lesson, students will play pre-made hands highlighting the lesson for that day. Subjects covered will be bidding, play of the hand, defense strategies, various bridge conventions and “whys”. Please pre-register with Jo Ann by Saturday before the Monday class. Jo Ann’s email is joann1107@comcast.net.
Other noteworthy areas to explore are the tabs titled Rich Mao's Foundations of Bidding, Rich Mao's Lessons From Actual Hands, Calendar and Game Results.
- Rich Mao's Foundations of Bidding and Lessons From Actual Hands help advanced beginners and intermediate players to access his voluminous store of bridge knowledge.
- The Calendar will give you an idea of the weekly games available. Open Games are for people of all skill levels. Limited games (99ers) are for newer players with fewer than 99 masterpoints.
- The Game Results will show the hands played and the results of recent games. You can get a sense of the various games by looking at some of the results. Our electronic scoring and internet posting of the results are wonderful benefits of playing bridge at the SBBC.
Welcome to SBBC and do not hesitate to call the club and talk to Marty, or one of our directors, for more information call 574-255-6613