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The District 17 Bridge Buzz focuses on district and national news and provides you with the links to access the details. Catch the next Buzz November 2024.
Contact Cindy Shoemaker, editor, cndyshoemaker@yahoo.com
with feedback and content suggestions.
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by Elizabeth Hamilton
grtscot@gmail.com
415-994-3527
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Great things are done by a series of small things brought together, Vincent Van Gogh - 1853 to 1890.
Van Gogh is a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter. He created approximately 2,100 works of art. This included 860 oil paintings. Most of these were created in the last two years of his life.
Van Gogh’s art is recognized by many. He was an incredible influence on the Modern Western Art Movement.
The quote above made me think of the bridge tournaments in D17. Behind all tournaments there are really hard working volunteers taking care of the small things and when it all comes together, an amazing bridge event can be enjoyed by all who attend. Every tournament, no matter how small, is a great thing that helps nurture and strengthen our bridge community.
Thank you volunteers who do all the small things and thank you players who reward their hard work by coming to play. It transforms everything that is done into a great bridge experience.
There are two more open regionals in 2024.
The Phoenix Desert Empire Regional, August 12 through 17. It will be over when you read this. If you were there, I am sure it was fun. They have an experienced committee handling the small stuff. The final open regional will be in Taos, September 23 through 29. This beautiful destination offers fun at the table and lots to experience after bridge. During this tournament, the D17 NAP Finals will be played. Make sure you qualify at your local club and join in the finals fun in Taos.
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D17 STaC tournaments will be held September 16 through 22 and November 11 through 17. Mark your calendar if you need Silver points and encourage your local club to hold STaC qualifying games.
The BIG tournament finish this year will be the Fall 2024 LVNABC.
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This will be an amazing opportunity to play and learn. There really is something for everyone. Click here for a schedule of events.
If you are in the category of an Intermediate/Newcomer, the I/N team is planning something special. Talk to your teacher and sign up to participate in the teacher and student competition. Click here for information about this fun competition.
All I/N players are welcome at the LVNABC. You do not need to participate in the competition to play and have fun. If you are playing on Thursday, December 5, there will be a special I/N reception following the afternoon game. Robert Todd will review some hands from the afternoon session and we will provide refreshments. Don’t miss the fun!
Just a reminder that there is a $10 discount for all D17 members. These entries must be purchased through Entry Express. There will be a help desk to assist with this process if needed. If you are an I/N player who has won a free play in the raffles held at D17 regionals, just check-in at the I/N help desk and your free play will be waiting for you.
A series of small things are being handled by a very talented and dedicated LVNABC committee. All the small things will be handled and the plan is to make the Fall 2024 LVNABC a great event!
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TAOS REGIONAL
NEW MEXICO
SEPTEMBER 23 - 29
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Tournament Co-Chairs
Jennifer O'Neill: jjo4501@gmail.com
Liz Hamilton: grtscot@gmail.com
The host hotel, the Sagebrush Inn and Suites, is almost full. If the nights you want are not available, there are many other lodging options on Expedia, Travelocity, VRBO or Airbnb nearby. Also, Taos has some charming boutique hotels, B&B’s and vacation rental homes from funky to luxurious.
Expect lots of good bridge at the Sagebrush’s lovely campus-like convention center and many opportunities to win gold in five Gold Rush events. There are five double-session team events and three Soloway KO’s.
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The Taos Regional will be a daylight tournament with two events daily at 10 am and 3 pm. Many have achieved Life Master status at this tournament.
Click here if you need a partner. Partnerships are guaranteed.
Complimentary refreshments will be provided. All attendees will receive a souvenir welcome gift. Prizes will be awarded to first place winners in all events.
Click here to view the tournament flyer.
September is a beautiful time in Taos, with crisp, sunny weather and an awesome display of color washing down the mountain slopes. Previous visitors know that for a small town, Taos boasts an amazing number of fine restaurants. Many restaurants offer early bird specials. The museums, galleries and shops are unique.
Join us for the Taos experience!
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CACTUS FLOWER NLM REGIONAL
TUCSON
NOVEMBER 21 - 23
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Jack Shoemaker
Unit 356 Tournament Chair
shoejack20@gmail.com
The Cactus Flower Non-Life Master (NLM) Regional delivers the GOLD Thursday, November 21 through Saturday, November 23 at the Tanque Verde Lutheran Church, 8625 E. Tanque Verde Road, Tucson. Ample free parking daily.
Click here to view the tournament flyer.
This regional is exclusively for NLMs with fewer than 750 masterpoints. Gold Rush pairs and/or teams that finish in the overalls (Stratification A) will be awarded 33 percent gold and 67 percent red masterpoints.
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There will be two days of two-session Gold Rush pairs. A Gold Rush Swiss teams will be held on Saturday. All NLMs will receive a tournament patch and more.
The Cactus Flower NLM Regional and the Tucson Fall Sectional will be held at the same time and at the same location; however, they are two separate tournaments.
Earn silver points at the sectional! It offers two days of open pairs and two days of Swiss teams. A sectional Bracketed Swiss teams will be held on Saturday.
Hospitable touches for all attendees include complimentary coffee and hot tea, morning snacks and premium candy daily. Saturday lunch will be offered at a reduced rate. Lunch will be available for purchase on Thursday and Friday.
Take advantage of free lectures by top local experts Thursday and Friday between sessions.
Stay nearby at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites. Book before November 8 to receive rates from $109 to $128/night. Click here to book your rooms.
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LAND OF ENCHANTMENT REGIONAL
ALBUQUERQUE
JANUARY 20 - 26, 2025
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Ben Franz
Tournament Chair
benfranz99@gmail.com
Plan to attend the Land of Enchantment Regional, Monday, January 20 through Sunday, January 26, 2025, at its new location, Crowne Plaza Albuquerque, 1901 University Blvd. Northeast, Albuquerque.
This seven-day regional offers a variety of pair and team games for players of all levels.
Click here to view the tournament flyer and all tournament events.
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RESERVE YOUR ROOMS TODAY
Book before January 6, 2025 to receive room rates from $129/night. To make your reservation, call 844-356-6178. Ask for the Unit 374 ACBL group rate or click here to book online. Parking is free.
FIND A PARTNER OR A TEAM
Stop by the on-site partnership desk or click here to make your pre-tournament partnership requests.
Educational lectures will be held between sessions Tuesday through Saturday. On-site snack bar and bargain coffee daily. Great hospitality gifts as well!
This is a cashless tournament. Credit cards, checks and ACBL scrip only. No smoke, no fragrance and no bad behavior. Zero tolerance will be strictly enforced.
See you in Albuquerque!
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The 2023-2024 National GNT Finals were held during the Toronto NABC.
D17 sent five teams to compete in the GNT
National Finals - a Championship Flight team, a Flight A team, a Flight B team and two Flight C teams.
Thank you to all of our teams for proudly representing our District!
The D17 Championship Flight team (pictured) WON the Morehead GNTs, defeating the District 25 team in a tight match 127-122. Congratulations!
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Back left: Geoff Hampson, Las Vegas; Bobby Levin, Henderson and Roger Lee, Las Vegas. Front left: Billy Miller, Las Vegas, Captain Alain Schreiber, Las Vegas and Brad Moss, Denver. | |
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Flight A: Kyle Rockoff, Unit 351, Gilbert, AZ, Ron Vickery and Doug Couchman, Unit 356, Tucson and Maya Alela, Unit 358, Flagstaff, advanced to the quarter finals.
Flight B: Damian Birmstihl, Frank Bost, Lakin Hines and Shari Smart, Unit 351, Mesa, AZ.
Flight C (1): Glenda and John Heideman, Unit 354, Grand Junction, CO and Joseph and Dianne Simon, Unit 421, Cheyenne, WY.
Fight C (2): Richard Blumberg, Mark Benford, Mike Crimmins and Anne Schuster, Unit 361, Denver, advanced to the semi-finals.
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Julie Clark
NAP Coordinator
jclark9811@comcast.net
The Taos Regional is home to the 2024 D17 North American Pairs (NAP) Finals. The Flight B two-session competition will be held Friday, September 27. Flight A and Flight C two-session competitions will be held Saturday, September 28.
Click here to view the Taos Tournament flyer.
ELIGIBILITY
Flight A is open to any player. Flight B is for players with less than 2,500 masterpoints and Flight C is open to Non-Life Masters with less than 500 masterpoints. All stratifications are determined by recorded masterpoints as of June 1, 2024.
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Club qualifying games both online and face-to-face have ended. We hope that you qualified and that you will join us in Taos.
Click here to see who qualified in D17.
ADVANCE TO THE NATIONAL FINALS
The top three eligible pairs in Flight A of the District Finals, and the top four eligible pairs in Flights B and C of the District Finals qualify to the National Finals held during the 2025 Spring NABC, Memphis, TN.
First and second place winners in every flight will receive a stipend from the ACBL. D17 provides a stipend for the third and fourth place winners in Flights B and C and for the third place winners in Flight A.
Click here to learn more about NAPs.
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Sharon Smith
D17 Education Chair
sharon@spatialsolutionsgroup.com
All Western Nite Club fans, the games will be transitioned to the ACBL Clubhouse line-up starting in September. Keep playing and learning with our own D17 teachers continuing to provide board reviews.
Grand National Teams (GNT) is a grass roots Swiss teams competition. Players qualify at a club or unit game, then can form a team of qualified GNT players and compete at the GNT Regional Finals in May 2025. Top winning teams go on to compete in the NABC Finals in Philadelphia in July 2025.
Clubs can run GNT qualifiers online. Steamboat Bridge is hosting team qualifiers monthly starting in October. There is an online GNT qualifier block in the middle of the SteamboatBridge.com website. Club directors, let me know of your games, and I will add them to the schedule.
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Players, make time to practice your Swiss teams skills and build up great games when these are hosted.
Last year, five GNT teams represented D17 at the nationals and did very well. The championship team WON! Please help us support this fun grass roots event.
Attention bridge teachers and students: Plan to play in the Fall LVNABC! Teachers, register your I/N students for the competition! Check out the flyer below for details. Intermediate/Newcomer 299er players, plan to play pairs in the afternoon game held on December 5 and attend the board review, reception and prize awards.
Attention bridge teachers: As the fall approaches, please send me your class information to add to the ‘Find a Class’ calendar on the D17 website.
Tell your local school teachers about Jump Start Bridge! Click here for details.
D17 will support Jump Start Bridge by hosting a booth at the 46 Annual Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented (CAGT) Convention held October 20 through 22 in Loveland, CO. D17 will host a booth at the 51st Annual Arizona AAGT Conference on February 4 and 5 in Mesa, AZ.
Thank you educators and students that help this game grow!
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Kitty Larson
D17 Election Secretary
kittysocceretc@gmail.com
The D17 election cycle is in full swing. The nomination period -- July 1 through August 31 -- for candidates interested in running for the D17 Board ended midnight August 31. Unit boards have until November 1 to conduct a vote.
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David Baglee, representing Northern and Southern New Mexico Units 374, 376, 380, 381, 383 and 388 and El Paso Unit 159, is standing for re-election and is unopposed.
Jennifer O’Neill, representing Denver Unit 361, is standing for re-election and is unopposed.
JoAnne Lowe, representing Phoenix Unit 354, will not stand for re-election. Kenneth Titow and Perry Van Hook are running for this position.
Bill Curtis, representing Colorado Springs Unit 360 and Northern Colorado Unit 363, will not stand for re-election. Kay Brock is running for this position.
If there is only one candidate for a seat, then that candidate will be elected by acclamation.
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ACBL members receive masterpoints for winning and placing in club games and tournaments as they strive to advance through the ranks. There are 16 ranks, from Junior Master (5 masterpoints) to Grand Life Master (10,000 masterpoints plus a victory in an eligible North American Bridge Championship). Learn rank qualifications. | |
NEWLY MINTED LIFE MASTERS | |
David Baglee, Unit 374, Albuquerque, NM. Also a Bronze Life Master. | |
Jerry Harper, Unit 374, Albuquerque, NM. Also a Bronze Life Master. | |
Leslie Harris, Unit 363, Fort Collins, CO. | |
Sheryl Sheiner, Unit 354, Scottsdale, AZ. Also a Bronze and Silver Life Master. | |
Dianne Simon, Unit 421, Cheyenne, WY. | |
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Not pictured: Richard Haggerty, Unit 361, Ridgway, CO, also a Bronze Life Master; Mary Ann Kerstetter, Unit 383, Las Vegas, NM, also a Bronze Life Master; Anne Munday, Unit 361, Denver, also a Bronze Life Master; Nell Parnell, Unit 359, Boulder, CO and Julie Reiser, Unit 380, Las Cruces, NM. | | | | |
