Unit 147, Washington Bridge League
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Welcome to Unit 147, Washington Bridge League
WBL Unit Games

The Thursday evening in-person unit game will be held weekly through the end of 2024, with the goal of continuing to hold a weekly unit game after that if attendance grows enough to support the game. The game starts at 7:30 p.m., and is held at Ohr Kodesh Congregation, 8300 Meadowbrook Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. There are open and flight B (under 2500) games, attendance permitting. If you play against a masked pair, you must wear a mask if requested by one of them. 

The unit game guaranteed partner is currently suspended. If you need assistance finding a partner in advance of the game, please contact Barbara Doran at WBLpartnerships@gmail.com no later 5 pm the day of the game. You may also click here to use the WBL online partnership desk to look for a partner ahead of time, or look for a partner at the game. Players attending the pre-game lesson may be matched after the lesson, and other players looking for a partner can let the director know.

The 0-20 newcomer game is back on a monthly basis! There is a monthly 0-20 newcomer game on the first Thursday of each month. Like the other games, this game starts at 7:30. First-time players at this game play free, and there is a special $5 entry fee for this game after that.

 

The schedule for upcoming Thursday evening in-person WBL unit games is as follows:

November 7 Grand National Teams qualifier (team game)
November 14 Stratiflighted club championship
November 21 Grand National Teams qualifier (team game)
November 28 No unit game--closed for Thanksgiving

 

Click here for the unit game schedule for July through December of 2024.

Click here for unit game results.

Upcoming Tournaments

NVBA Fall Sectional, Fairfax, VA, September 12-15

WBL Fall Sectional, Silver Spring, MD, October 17-20

Message from the WBL President

May 2, 2024

About three years ago, I stepped into the role of WBL President, and today I am announcing that I will step down on the 18th of May when a new WBL President will take over from me.

I have enjoyed working with the Board of Directors and dealing with the members of the WBL bridge community, but I leave with serious concern about in-person bridge which faces multi-faceted challenges.

Low attendance, an aging population and the ease of playing online are regularly cited as the sources of decline, but what is not often mentioned is the lack of a critical mass of bridge players in the US under the age of 45 (not true in other countries).

For that to change, bridges image needs a rework, and the game needs to be marketed and promoted in order to attract not only middle-aged folks nearing retirement, but members of the younger generation too. I believe that younger folks would be interested in intellectual recreational pursuits such as bridge (despite views to the contrary), but are unlikely nowadays to identify bridge as an avenue for that pursuit because they have no familiarity with the game and associate it with their parents' and grandparents' generations.

WBL is doing its part to grow the game. It is planning to sponsor, in partnership with the WBL Education Foundation, a set of bridge lessons for beginning bridge students this summer. It has also established a Board Committee whose task is to grow the game locally. I expect the Committee to find ways to promote bridge and the benefits of playing it, and to recruit new players, but it cannot do it alone; it needs your help. In other words, WBL needs its members to volunteer time and effort to assist in recruiting new players, especially from among the younger folks.

In closing, I want to express my appreciation to my fellow Directors for their dedication and commitment to WBLs growth and advancement. It has been my honor to serve the WBL community for the past three years.

ABA Updates

Play bridge with our friends and neighbors at the other Washington bridge organization, the Washington Bridge Unit of the American Bridge Association. For information about the Washington Bridge Unit's activities and links to other ABA events, click here.

Who We Are

The Washington Bridge League (Unit 147 of the American Contract Bridge League) covers Washington, DC and its Maryland suburbs. The Washington Bridge League holds a weekly unit game on Thursday evenings, and usually holds three sectional tournaments each year. The Washington Bridge League also holds annnual round robin and knockout competitions played in less formal settings. Come join us and play the world's greatest game! 

New to Bridge (or Duplicate Bridge)?

Many resources for new players are available on the ACBL web site.  I especially recommend the (free!) software available here.  If you're an iOS user, Tricky Bridge is a great (and free) way to learn as well.

What's New?

Congratulations to the 2024 Eynon Trophy winners Mark Chen, Brad Theurer, Lyle Poe, and Clyde Kruskal!

Congratulations to Ernie Schuler, the 2024 winner of the Machlin Sportsmanship Award. Read more about this award here.

Congratulations to WBL members who became Life Masters in 2023: Elliot Bernold, Gregory Christian, Richard Clark, Debra Graham, Joel Greengard, Michele Greengard, David Handwerker, Kenneth Iobst, Edward Ty Larson, Ravi Mani, Peter Monroe, Margaret Stouffer, Nancy Worth, Shihong You, and Mohammad Zaidi!

Check out the 2023 winners of the WBL Mini-McKenney, Ace of Clubs, and Ace of Virtual Clubs here.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 WBL Round Robin:  Bill Cole, Peter Boyd, Mark Shaw, and Steve Robinson!

Check out the WBL Life Master list updated as of June 2023.

Unit Knockout and Round Robin

The 2024 WBL Round Robin is underway. See the teeam rosters and follow the results here.