| St Petersburg Bridge Club 9103 US Highway 19 N Pinellas Park, FL 33782 Call 727-544-5040 |
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| Barbara Segram Seminar August 11 |
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| This Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
 Opening LeadsIt's Time to Register!
Don't miss out on a great opportunity to improve your game. Barbara Seagram's seminar on Opening Leads is this Tuesday, at 4 pm, Eastern time. The fee is only $20. You don't have much time left to register. Better do it now!
Click here to register or visit mkt.com/stpetebridge.
Barbara will use Zoom to teach the two-hour seminar. She will discuss the principles, work through sample hands, and take comments from her audience, just as she has done in seminars of the past. With an online seminar, you get a guaranteed front-row seat. The seminars will be recorded and we'll send you a link to the recording and copies of Barbara's notes after the seminar.
Barbara Seagram is a truly generous advocate of the game of bridge. This seminar is a donation from Barbara to support the St. Petersburg Bridge Club. Thank you, a million times, for your support, Barbara!
In Other News . . .
Silver Linings Week, sponsored by ACBL, was again very popular and a big draw. We hosted over 160 tables, 640 players. More than 160 silver points were awarded to our players over the week.
Your Board will be holding a special Board meeting, via Zoom, on Monday, August 10, at 4 PM. Our Bylaws Committee, Anne Person and Sandy Peterson, will be presenting proposed changes to our Bylaws at that meeting. If you would like to join the meeting as a guest, please e-mail me, jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com, and I will send you an invitation.
Merry Schainblatt is putting the finishing touches on her class schedule for the Fall. She will continue to teach online while the club is closed. The new classes will begin in September. In response to requests I have received from some of you, she is adding a Two over One class. (Don't worry, Marianne Timmons and Diane Wharen are anxious to get back to teaching once the club reopens.)
The game directors and I met this past week to discuss our game schedule. We have decided to test adding a Zoom-hosted, post-mortem session after the Tuesday 12:45 PM Open Games. We will begin this on Tuesday, August 18, so as not to interfere with the Barbara Seagram session on Tuesday afternoon,
August 11.
Charlie always talked about serving nachos and wine after a game to players who stay to chat about the hands that were just played. Those playing in the Open Game on Tuesday, August 18 (and, hopefully, thereafter), will be given a link to the Zoom post-mortem session. We will be serving virtual nachos and your choice of beverages.
We are also changing the 10 AM Sunday game to a 0-100 Game (from 0-50) starting Sunday, August 9.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
The schedule for this week is as follows:
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Monday, July 27
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, July 28
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 29
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 30
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 31
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, August 1
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday,August 2
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-100)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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Hopefully, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday afternoon open games.
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| August 2 Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
How good are you at opening leads?
Many players will tell you that the opening lead is the most important defensive play of the hand. The opening lead is your consolation prize for not getting the contract. It's your chance to establish your side's defensive strategy. If you make a mistake on the opening lead it can destroy that strategy before you play to the second trick.
Fortunately for all of us, the wonderful Barbara Seagram is conducting an online seminar on this very subject.
"Opening Leads," by Barbara Seagram, will take place on Tuesday, August 11, from 4 to 6 pm Eastern time. The registration price is just $20. Barbara will use Zoom to teach the seminar. She will discuss the principles, work through sample hands, and take comments from her audience, just as she has done in seminars of the past. With an online seminar, you get a guaranteed front-row seat. The seminars will be recorded and we'll send you copies of Barbara's notes.
Barbara Seagram is a truly generous advocate of the game of bridge. She is conducting this exceptional seminar for the benefit of the St. Petersburg Bridge Club, where she is a member and that she, and her husband, Alex, have supported for years. Your seminar registration of $20 goes entirely to support our Club. I'm sure you can understand how much our Club, like most bridge clubs in the world, needs your support in these trying times. Thank you, Barbara!
There were plenty of opening leads made this week as we had a great number of tables taking advantage of the opportunity to earn silver points. Double silver points at that. I haven't finished tabulating the numbers but we had some very large games during the week. Thank you to all who participated and
supported our club.
Your Board has continued to meet and conduct business during this period that the club has been closed. We have been informed that our current Bylaws do not allow electronic meetings of the Board, such as via Zoom, as we have been doing. Our Bylaws Committee, Anne Person and Sandy Peterson will be presenting proposed changes to our Bylaws at a special meeting on Monday, August 10, at 4 PM. If you would like to join that meeting, as a guest, please e-mail me, jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com, and I will send you an invitation. Anne and Sandy will also address the process for electing Board members. Some of you may recall that prior to our last election, there was a push for proxy and early voting.
Thank you for playing in our games, taking lessons, and supporting our club. We cannot survive without you. See you at the tables.
Our game schedule for next week has not changed. We really need you to support and play in the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoon Open games if we are going to continue to offer these games.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
The schedule for this week is as follows:
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Monday, July 27
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, July 28
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 29
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 30
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 31
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, August 1
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday,August 2
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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Hopefully, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday afternoon open games.
..... see less
How good are you at opening leads?
Many players will tell you that the opening lead is the most important defensive play of the hand. The opening lead is your consolation prize for not getting the contract. ..........
..... see more |
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| July 28 Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
SILVER POINTS, GUESTS AND OPENING LEADS
We have a buffet of interesting tidbits for you this week.
ACBL is sponsoring another Silver Point week starting Monday, July 27, and ending Sunday, August 2. All of our games that week will offer silver points and those points will be doubled by ACBL. This is a great opportunity, especially for our Non-Life Masters. Now is the time to accumulate your silver. Because ACBL has increased the table fees, we have increased the game fee that week to $7 instead of our regular $6.
Silver point week has generated a lot of interest from players far and wide. Players seem to be attracted to our club because we offer games every day and because we have Limited games every day except Saturday.
A number of our members have asked if they can play with a partner who is not a member of our club. As of this past Friday, July 24, ACBL revised its visitor policy. Their definition of member remains the same, anyone who has played at our physical facility, in a regular or a tournament game, during the 14 months ended February 2020, is a "member" of our club.
In the past, a guest could play with a member of our club as long as the number of guests did not exceed 5% of our field. The new policy has two major changes, the guest cap is increased from 5% to 15% and two guests may play together (although both count toward the 15% cap).
Saturday, I played against a pair who are in the top tier of players in the country. After the wife made a "bad" opening lead, she texted, "I must be the worst opening leader in the world." I responded, "No, that would be me."
We each had a good laugh.
I repeat that story to demonstrate that even the best can improve their opening leads. Want to learn how? Plan to attend Barbara Seagram's seminar, Opening Leads, on August 11, at 4 PM Eastern time.
Registrations are pouring in for the seminar. There's a good chance you'll play against somebody who attended and who learned how to make an opening lead the right way from Barbara. Don't be left behind!
This seminar is a fund-raiser for the Club, generously donated by Barbara, who is a long-time friend, member and supporter. The cost of the seminar is only $20. Thank you, Barbara! Please support the Club by signing up today.
Click here to sign up now.
Please also help us by spreading the word. Below is a link to a flyer about the seminar. We'd appreciate it if you would download the flyer and send it to all your friends who might be interested. We're not limited by geography or membership; the seminar is open to all.
Click here for the flyer about the seminar.
We have received our sanctions for tournaments for 2021. Here's hoping we will be open and able to hold face-to-face tournaments. We will be hosting Open Sectionals in February 2021 and September 2021. In April 2021 and December 2021 we will be hosting 499er (or I/N) sectionals. More details will be forthcoming.
The District 9 (D9) 0-100 games continue every weeknight at 7 PM. I notice that a number of you are taking advantage of the opportunity to play in those games. Remember that our club gets up to $3 of your $6 game fee.
Your Board of Directors will be holding their regular, monthly meeting, via Zoom, on Monday, July 27, at 4 PM. If you would like to attend that meeting as a guest, please e-mail me, jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com and I will send you an invitation.
At this time, there are no plans to make any changes to our game schedule. Remember that all games starting Monday, July 27, award silver points and the BBO points will be doubled by ACBL. The schedule for this week is as follows:
We continue to need players for our Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday afternoon Open Games if we are going to continue to be able to offer these games.
You are such a wonderful group of people and so supportive and appreciative of everyone's efforts to keep the club alive and functioning. I know I can count on you to help us with these smaller games.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
The schedule for this week is as follows:
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Monday, July 27
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, July 28
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 29
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 30
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 31
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, August 1
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday,August 2
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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| July 21 Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
MEET YOUR NEW BRIDGE PARTNERS
This week I was told by someone that she could tell I love the club as much as she does. You know who loves this club more? You do! Our members, players, friends, and guests.
You rose to the challenge and played in our Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoon games so that we did not have to cancel them! The fact that you saved those games speaks volumes.
The inaugural District 9 0-100 game on Monday was a bit of a challenge for all. Whoever set up that game for the District missed a step and, as a result, most of our players were not able to register and play. I want to thank everyone I talked to for being so patient and understanding, even though we weren't able to get you into that game. I do see that some of you tried again and were able to play later in the week. I encourage you to play if you are able. These games run Monday through Friday at 7 PM. Our club gets up to $3 of your $6 game fee.
Your tournament co-chairs, Sandy Peterson and Marianne Timmons, are at work preparing for our club's Open Sectional scheduled for February 12-14, 2021. At one point, I joined the two of them and I think the three of us were successful in driving Mike Jacobs over the edge. I haven't heard from Mike recently.
For those of you who don't know, Mike Jacobs designs the flyers the club uses to promote its tournaments and special events at the club. I'm sure you will agree that he does a superb job. Mike is also a driving force behind the production of the club's highly regarded, monthly Bridge Bulletin.
Speaking of tournaments, ACBL has announced another Silver Point Week. It will run from Monday, July 27, through Sunday, August 2. All games that week award silver points and the points earned on BBO will be doubled!
Dar Webb is hard at work preparing for Barbara Seagram's seminar, Opening Leads, on August 11, at 4 PM Eastern time.
This seminar is a fund-raiser for the Club, generously donated by Barbara, who is a long-time friend, member and supporter. The cost of the seminar is only $20. Thank you, Barbara! I hope you will support the Club by signing up today to attend.
Please also help us by spreading the word. Below is a link to a flyer about the seminar. We'd appreciate it if you would download the flyer and send it to all your friends who might be interested. We're not limited by geography for an online seminar!
Speaking of Dar, she has been busy fulfilling large orders from Baron Barclay for her Quick Reference Decks. The Decks have been selling out and she has had to order some reprints. All proceeds from the sales of the Quick Reference Decks go to the club.
You continue to support our club in so many ways. It's wonderful to be
part of such a caring and supportive community.
We continue to need players for our Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday
afternoon Open Games if we are going to continue to be able to offer these
games. Thank you again to all who made it happen this past week.
At this time, there are no plans to make any changes to our game schedule. The schedule for this week is as follows:
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
The game schedule for next week remains the same and is as follows:
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Monday, July 20
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, July 21
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 22
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 23
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 24
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, July 25
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, July 26
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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..... see less
MEET YOUR NEW BRIDGE PARTNERS
This week I was told by someone that she could tell I love the club as much as she does. You know who loves this club more? You do! Our members, players, friends, and guests. ..........
..... see more |
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| July 12 Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
OPENINGS
We appreciate those of you who support us by playing in our virtual club games on BBO. We particularly need players for our afternoon, Open Games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Recently we have had to cancel a number of those games due to the lack of players.
Usually we are just one or two pairs shy of being able to hold the game. You can sit in your comfy chair, enjoy a cold beverage, wear your favorite shoes, all while enjoying an extra afternoon game. These games are run by the same three, hard-working directors that run the other games during the rest of the week. Remember that while we are closed, our virtual club games have been covering our fixed costs.
For those of you who have signed up for these games and have been disappointed when they were cancelled, please do not desert us. We need you and these games to keep our club alive. We appreciate your continued support.
We have decided to not make any changes in our game schedule at this time. Please remember that we continue to offer both a Limited Section at 12:30 PM and an Open Section at 12:30 to the Sunday afternoon game.
Register Now for the Seagram Seminar
Our wonderful friend, Barbara Seagram, will conduct a two-hour online
seminar, Opening Leads, on August 11, at 4 PM Eastern time.
This seminar is a fund-raiser for the Club, generously donated by Barbara,
who is a long-time friend, member and supporter. The cost of the seminar
is only $20. Thank you, Barbara! I hope you will support the Club by
signing up today to attend.
Please also help us by spreading the word. Below is a link to a flyer
about the seminar. We'd appreciate it if you would download the flyer
and send it to all your friends who might be interested. We're not
limited by geography for an online seminar!
Thank you to all of our members, friends and guests for playing in our
games, taking classes and sending us donations.
You are the ones who make us what we are!
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
The game schedule for next week remains the same and is as follows:
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Monday, July 13
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, July 14
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 15
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 16
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 17
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, July 18
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, July 19
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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..... see less
OPENINGS
We appreciate those of you who support us by playing in our virtual club games on BBO. ..........
..... see more |
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| July 5 Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
I hope everyone enjoyed your Fourth of July yesterday and that however you celebrated you stayed safe.
Although the club is still closed and plans to remain closed through the end of the current year, many people are continuing their work behind the scenes. We strive to serve you, our members, and friends.
Of particular note, Barbara Seagram has graciously offered to teach an online class for our club. You won't want to miss this class, which will take place at 4 PM on Tuesday, August 11. The topic is Opening Leads. We're still in the process of ironing out some of the details, but you can register now. The cost is only $20, all of which will go to help sustain the club in these trying times.
Just click here or go to mkt.com/stpetebridge.
We will email you with more details as we work them out. Barbara is a highly acclaimed bridge teacher and author of numerous bridge books, as well as a long-time member of our club. We are fortunate that Barbara and her husband, Alex Kornel, are staunch supporters. We frequently see them playing together in our virtual club games.
As we reported last week, Dar Webb, with help from Bob Vollbracht and Merry Schainblatt, recently launched the sixth book in the Quick Reference Deck Series. Welcome to Bridge is for a new player, somebody who has just started to learn or re-learn the game. It is available for purchase at mkt.com/stpetebridge. Dar fulfills the Deck orders as well as processes all of our credit card transactions, including the many contributions you all are sending us. You are keeping Dar busy. Thank you!
Merry Schainblatt continues to offer a full schedule of online, Zoom classes. She teaches Competitive Bidding at 2 PM on Mondays, her intermediate class, Next Steps, meets at 10 AM on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Defense Basics is at 3 PM on Thursdays and she recently started a Play of the Hand Class at 10 AM on Fridays. If you would like to attend one of her classes, please drop her an e-mail, m.schainblatt@gmail.com, and she will send you an invitation.
We recently learned of a new, revolutionary way to teach bridge online and Merry is currently in the process of evaluating this new platform. Among other benefits, students will be able to play hands during the class. We are excited about this opportunity.
Thanks to our directors, we continue to offer virtual club games seven days a week. On most days, except Saturday, we offer two games a day. On Sunday, we have a Limited 0-50 game at 10 AM and, in the afternoon we have a two-section game, with a Limited, 0-499 Section, starting at 12:30 PM followed by an Open Section at 12:45 PM.
We have learned that playing online may be the only way for people with limited mobility to enjoy bridge. We are likely to continue some of these online games even after our club reopens.
Thank you again to our members, guests and friends for your continuing support of our club. We appreciate your playing in our games, taking lessons, making donations and dropping us a note from time to time. It is still true...we have the BEST members and friends!
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
Our game schedule for this week remains unchanged
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Monday, July 6
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, July 7
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 8
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 9
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 10
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, July 11
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, July 12
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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MOVERS AND SHAKERS
I hope everyone enjoyed your Fourth of July yesterday and that however you celebrated you stayed safe.
Although the club is still closed and plans to remain closed through the end of the current year, many people are continuing their work behind the scenes. We strive to serve you, our members, and friends. ..........
..... see more |
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| Suspend Face-to-Face for Rest of Year 2020 |
CLUB OPERATIONS
Your Board of Directors met yesterday. Among other items of business
was a report from Lee Taylor, Pam Gorbics and Howard Braun, the
Reopening Committee.
The three of them did an outstanding job and developed an excellent
plan for actions that will be taken when the club reopens. They
have identified many safeguards that we will have in place to protect
our members, friends, and guests when playing face to face.
After much discussion, the Board decided that the Club will suspend
all face to face play for the remainder of this year. The Board considered
the increase in Covid-19 cases diagnosed in Florida, the demographics
of our players and guidance from ACBL. This is not a decision that
the Board takes lightly. We want everyone to remain healthy and safe.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
..... see less
CLUB OPERATIONS
Your Board of Directors met yesterday. Among other items of business
was a report from Lee Taylor, Pam Gorbics and Howard Braun, the
Reopening Committee. ..........
..... see more |
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| June 28 Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
A WELCOME ADDITION
In these weekly e-mails, I like to recognize those members who have made significant contributions for the benefit of our club.
This week I want to recognize Dar Webb and Bob Vollbracht, co-authors of the Quick Reference Deck Series, who devoted countless hours to bringing us the latest addition to the series, Welcome to Bridge, published today. For those of you who do not know, all profits from the sales of these decks are retained by our club.
Thank you, Bob and Dar!
Welcome to Bridge is for a new player, somebody who has just started to learn or re-learn the game. It covers the fundamentals that a new player needs to have fun playing competitive bridge online or at a bridge club. We were fortunate to have Merry Schainblatt reviewing the many drafts of Welcome to Bridge. Merry knows what newcomers need and helped make sure the new deck is simple and on target.
Welcome to Bridge doesn't replace a teacher, a book or a software program. Instead it puts all the information on 4" x 6" index cards that are easy to review. The cards come with a ring binder to keep them in order. They are highly portable, easy to access, and have plenty of room on each card for notes. What's more, the system can grow by adding cards from other decks as the player's skill level increases.
You can order decks and find the complete tables of contents of all six decks (Welcome to Bridge, Basic Bridge, Intermediate Bridge, TwoOver One Toolkit, Doubles and Redoubles, and Guidelines for a Great Game) at mkt.com/stpetebridge. You can also order decks at baronbarclay.com.
Do you know somebody who is trying to learn to play bridge? Send them a copy of Welcome to Bridge!
We had announced previously that the Board Meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, June 29, at 4 PM was going to be held in person at the club's facility. Since then, some of those Board members advocating the face to face meeting have had second thoughts. Personally, I am thrilled that they have reconsidered especially considering the significant rise in Covid-19 cases here in Florida. Therefore, our Board meeting tomorrow will be held, as originally planned, via Zoom. If you would like an invitation to attend, please e-mail me at jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com.
One of the highlights of tomorrow's meeting will be a report and recommendations from Lee Taylor and his Reopening Committee (Pam Gorbics and Howard Braun).
Attendance at our Virtual Club Games has been affected the last several days by the Endless Summer Regional being held through BBO. We hope all of you who played in the tournament enjoyed yourselves and enjoyed the rewards. We hope to see you back in our Virtual Club Games this week. These games provide a significant amount of revenue to offset our fixed costs.
I continue to be wowed by the support you, our members, players, and friends,
provide to our club. It is obvious how much you care about our club and
that you want it to weather these difficult times. We can't do it without you!
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
Our game schedule for this coming week is as follows:
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Monday, June 29
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, June 30
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, July 1
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, July 2
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, July 3
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, July 4
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, July 5
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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..... see less
A WELCOME ADDITION
In these weekly e-mails, I like to recognize those members who have made significant contributions for the benefit of our club. ..........
..... see more |
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| June 21 This Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
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TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS
ACBL's announcement this week of the cancellation of all tournaments, Nationals, Regionals as well as Sectionals through the remainder of 2020 was disappointing. I love tournaments and am going to miss traveling to them, especially my annual "vacation" at the Sanibel Regional (picture above).
The good news is that ACBL is running a virtual Endless Summer Regional for four days at the end of this week, Thursday, June 25, through Sunday, June 28. Last time ACBL ran a virtual Regional, the entries sold out quickly. They have many additional events for this tournament and I'm hoping those of us who want to play are able to register. Here is the link to more tournament information as well the schedule of events, https://www.acbl.org/clubsupportonlinegames/. We will continue to offer our regular virtual club game schedule for those of you who do not wish to participate in the Endless Summer Regional.
Your Board of Directors continues to meet and conduct club business. We are holding a special meeting tomorrow, Monday, June 22, at
4 PM, primarily to determine the amount of the semi-annual debt service payment. Our next regularly scheduled monthly meeting is June 29, at 4 PM. We expect to have a report and recommendations from Lee Taylor and his Reopening Planning Committee at that meeting. If you wish to attend either or both meetings, please e-mail me, jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com and let me know which meeting(s) you are interested in attending and I will send you the appropriate Zoom invitation(s).
I want to thank all of you for supporting our club during this difficult time.
We appreciate your sending contributions, attending classes, and playing
in our games. With your help and support we will get through this.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
Our game schedule for this week is as follows:
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Our game schedule for this week is as follows:
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Monday, June 22
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, June 23
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, June 24
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, June 25
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, June 26
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, June 27
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, June 28
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:30 PM -- Limited (0-499) Section
12:45 PM -- Open Section
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TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS
ACBL's announcement this week of the cancellation of all tournaments, Nationals, Regionals as well as Sectionals through the remainder of 2020 was disappointing. .......... |
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| 14 June This Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
As many of you know, for a number of years now, ACBL has promoted special charity games in support of the Alzheimer's Association, https://www.acbl.org/clubs_page/special-events/the-longest-day/ . Initially, the plan was for clubs to hold games around the clock on "the longest day," June 21. This year all virtual club games held on June 20 and June 21 will benefit Alzheimers. The online games those two days will offer double the regular masterpoints. For games held those days, ACBL is increasing the table fee from $1 to $4 with the difference being the donation. Our game fees for those games will be $7 (instead of $6) to cover the increase in the ACBL table fee.
Speaking of our virtual club games, we have been getting inquiries as to how eligibility to play in our games is determined. ACBL calls the shots on this. ACBL has defined a club's members as anyone who has played at the club, in its physical space, at any time during the fourteen months ended February 29, 2020. This includes our regular club games as well as sectional tournament games held at our physical location.
ACBL recently changed the procedure for allowing guests to play in the virtual club games. There is now a 5% cap on the number of guests playing in those games. In addition, a guest must play with a member; that is, two guests may not play together. In order to manage the 5% restriction, we ask that, if you want to play with a guest, you contact our BBO director, VACB127001, as soon as possible after registration for that game opens. If there is room for your guest, the director will grant permission and you and your guest may register for the game. This needs to be done each time you and a guest want to play together. So far, we have not reached the 5% cap.
Knowing that some clubs in our area have reopened, you are undoubtedly curious as to where our club stands with its plans to reopen. A Reopening Committee has been formed consisting of Lee Taylor, chair, Pam Gorbics and Howard Braun. The Committee is hard at work identifying the risks inherent in our activities and recommending the appropriate steps to mitigate those risks. We will not reopen until it is safe to do so.
In their constant effort to meet the needs of our members and players, our BBO directors want to explore running a virtual club game with two sections. We will try this for the first time on Sunday, June 21, with a Limited Section, 0-499, starting at 12 Noon that day and the Open Section starting at 1 PM that day. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want to thank everyone who is making it possible for our club to survive this crisis. Our BBO directors, our "Zoom teacher" and those of you who send us your generous donations are integral to our survival.
Our game schedule for this week is as follows: | Monday, June 15 | 10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499 12:45 PM -- Open 6:30 PM -- Open | | Tuesday, June 16 | 10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199) 12:45 PM -- Open | | Wednesday, June 17 | 10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open | | Thursday, June 18 | 10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open | | Friday, June 19 | 10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open | | Saturday, June 20 | 12:45 PM -- Open
The Longest Day Game | | Sunday, June 21 | 10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:00 PM -- Limited (0-499)
1:00 PM -- Open
All games are
The Longest Day Games |
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| June 7 This Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
Silver Week, May 25 through May 31, was a big hit with our players. We had 152 tables in play in our virtual club that week. With the points tripled by ACBL, our players received 253.75 silver points! Congratulations to all. I know of at least one player who was able to advance to his next ACBL designation as a result.
At least three clubs in our general area are reopening between now, some as early as next week, and the beginning of July. Although it is very tempting to join those who are reopening, we are showing our [heavy] mettle and exercising extreme caution. We are reluctant to reopen until we are comfortable that we have taken the appropriate steps to make it safe for you, our members and guests, to return to the club.
Lee Taylor continues to head the effort to plan for our reopening. He is in the process of forming a committee to work with him to identify the risks inherent in reopening and to take the appropriate actions to mitigate those risks. ACBL recently published its Club Safety Considerations. You can view that document by clicking on the following: https://web2.acbl.org/documentLibrary/play/F2F.pdf. I have asked Lee to incorporate ACBL's recommendations in the reopening plan that he and his committee are developing. Lee and his committee will keep you informed as to their progress.
I continue to be heartened by everyone's generosity. We have a number of volunteers such as Merry Schainblatt, Dar Webb, and Lee Taylor who devote many hours working in support of our club. Our three BBO game directors, Elaine Garofalo, Pam Gorbics and Paul Friedman, donate many more hours on the club's behalf than their director compensation covers.
And last, but not least, contributions, very heavy metal, from you continue to arrive daily.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
Our game schedule for next week remains unchanged.
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Monday, June 8
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, June 9
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, June 10
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, June 11
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, June 12
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, June 13
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, June 14
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Silver Week, May 25 through May 31, was a big hit with our players. We had 152 tables in play in our virtual club that week. With the points tripled by ACBL, our players received 253. ..........
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| June 1 This Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club |
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WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES
June 1, 2020
A book I read recently had a new take on this old saying, when one door closes and another one opens, it indicates that there is an architectural flaw.
The door closes today on Silver Week. It seems that Silver Week has been popular with many of our players. It also attracted some "new" faces as well. Many of you are the recipients of the triple silver point awards. Congratulations to all!
Merry Schainblatt opened a door by starting her new class, Defense Basics, this past Thursday. There were over 90 students attending via Zoom. It is not too late to take advantage of this class. It takes place Thursday afternoon from 3 to 4 PM and will last seven more weeks. There is time to play in the 12:45 PM game and still participate in the class. If you would like to attend, please e-mail Merry at m.schainblatt@gmail.com.
After the bridge club closed its facility, a door opened and we were able to start our virtual bridge club on BBO. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to be one of the first clubs in Florida to start virtual club games on BBO.
The use of convention cards by partnerships in our virtual club games has generated much discussion recently. If you and your partner do not have a convention card completed and posted on BBO, the system default is the Standard American Yellow Card. That is what your opponents see when they "look" at your convention card online.
Here is a link to our website for information on how to complete a convention card on BBO:
BBO Convention Cards
This was written for us by Paul Friedman. If you have any questions, please contact Paul at SPBC@paulmfriedman.com.
I hope you are finding the articles from Randy Baron to be helpful. Here are this week's articles:
The More Experienced Partner Should Adapt
Difference Between Matchpoints and Imps
And, finally, here is the schedule for this week:
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Our next Board Meeting is tomorrow, June 1, at 4 PM. The meetings are being held via Zoom. If you would like to attend, please e-mail me, jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com, and I will send you an invitation to Zoom with us.
Through your generous donations, Merry's classes and the virtual club games, your club is keeping its "head above water" financially. The Board continues to plan for the eventual reopening of the club. Lee Taylor is heading that effort on the club's behalf. As a news commentator said recently, "it's not a matter of when to reopen, it's about how to do it safely."
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Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
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WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES
June 1, 2020
A book I read recently had a new take on this old saying, when one door closes and another one opens, it indicates that there is an architectural flaw. .......... | | | | | |
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| This Week at St Petersburg Bridge Club - May 24 |
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SURPRISES
We all appreciate a pleasant surprise. A nice gesture by someone makes a huge difference, especially during this difficult time.
I was surprised, when I went to the club a couple of weeks ago, to see that some good gremlins, as yet unidentified, had returned all of the playing tables and chairs to the playing rooms. The folks that cleaned the carpet had moved them out of the rooms for us, but it was up to us to return them to their rightful places.
Donations to the club continue to arrive each day. Since the club has been closed, nearly 100 thank you notes have been written. Yes, we have received that many donations from our wonderful members and friends! Since my source for note cards and return address labels is no longer available, I have been writing the return address by hand. The other day a set of 500 return labels for the club arrived in our mail. Thank you, Pat!
Merry Schainblatt continues to amaze me by developing more new ideas to help our club and our members. I receive rave reviews about what a good teacher she is. Starting next Thursday, May 28, from 3 to 4 PM, Merry will be teaching Defense Basics. Please
e-mail Merry, if you would like to participate, m.schainblatt@gmail.com. Her partner in this endeavor is our Paul Friedman.
Our Board meeting that had been scheduled for Monday, May 25, at 4 PM has been postponed. It seems that the majority of our board members wish to observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. Therefore, the regular, monthly Board meeting will be held Monday, June 1, at 4 PM. The meeting will be held via Zoom and, if you wish to attend, please send me, jbwharton@tampabay.rr.com, your e-mail address and I will issue you an invitation.
Please remember to get your silver points this week! All of our virtual club games, starting Monday, May 25, and ending Sunday, May 31, will award silver points. Our games continue to grow in popularity; we have been welcoming new players every week. Our great team of directors, Elaine, Pam and Paul, continue to go above and beyond to make our virtual club games the place to be and be "seen." We all enjoyed Hawaiian shirt day this past Friday, even though we had one protester, a shirtless Leon!
Speaking of our virtual club, please do not forget to check out the Virtual Club Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that are on our website. For reasons abundantly clear to my partners, I now use the "confirm bid" function so I can double check my bid before it's too late (and a surprise for us both). There are other surprises in there that I expect you will find useful.
You might be surprised that I have not forgotten to include the articles from Randy Baron articles this week. Here are this week's articles from Randy.
When Declarer Leads Towards the KQx, Duck
Do You Know Your Partner?
In conclusion, here is our virtual club game schedule for this week.
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Monday, May 25
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499
12:45 PM -- Open
6:30 PM -- Open
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Tuesday, May 26
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Wednesday, May 27
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thursday, May 28
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-199)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Friday, May 29
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-499)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Saturday, May 30
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12:45 PM -- Open
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Sunday, May 31
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10:00 AM -- Limited (0-50)
12:45 PM -- Open
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Thank you to all of our caring players, members, friends and gremlins
for all you do to support our club. We wouldn't be able to survive
this without you.
Joanne B. Wharton
President and Acting Manager
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SURPRISES
We all appreciate a pleasant surprise. .......... |
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| * * ALERT - Viewing Our Website by Phone ** |
How to View our Website Homepage or Results using your Cell Phone.
| On the Left-Hand Side ABOVE the MENU |
Click on "SWITCH to DESKTOP"
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Questions: contact Lee Taylor by phone (727.744.0406). The problem in Viewing came with the upgrade to a new version of the Standard BridgeWebs Software.
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How to View our Website Homepage or Results using your Cell Phone. ..........
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