All of the results for the NABC can be found by clicking here. | 
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71.68% Peg Waller and Lynne Castoldi, Plymouth BC, July 18 70.83% Joan Cassel and David Juberien, Mankato DBC, July 16 70.83% Richard Towner and Hai-Sheng Wu, Mankato DBC, July 30 70.63% Barbara Knutsen and Bob Roediger, Rochester DBC, July 29 70.00% Roger Anderson and Sharon Anderson, Metro DBC, July 17 LIMITED MASTERPOINT GAMES: 71.43% Mark Huseth and Donald Nierengarten, St Cloud DBC, July 21 NEWCOMER GAMES: 76.19% Matthew Yelle and Maye Stennes, Bridge Center of St Paul, July 24 |
  
| The number of Minnesota players that have qualified to go on in this competition is 501! That's 10 more than last year through the first two months (or +2.0%), and a big chunk of our qualified players have come from the Flight "C" group, which is terrific. Over half of the NAP qualifiers in Minnesota are from Flight "C" (259 of 501). That's a good thing. One area of concern for some of our local players may be the Flight "A" (0-6,000) and SuperFlight (Open) categories of the NAP, where there are 40 players this year who have qualified so far vs 64 players last year. That would indicate some small games in the D14 Finals, but we'll see. There's still the month of August yet to qualify. Are you one of the 501 players already qualified? You can find out for sure by clicking on the list of players to your left. And whether you are or are not - more red and black points are available in August. Check with your local club manager to see when those games are scheduled - and get those games on your bridge calendar. |
 | All of the results for this NABC can be found by clicking here, and you can check out the 3,039 players on the masterpoint winner's list by clicking here.
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It's not enough to just support the players, but units exist to support their clubs as well. (One likes to have a place to play.) Each of Minnesota's units is reimbursing clubs this summer in an effort to help clubs help us promote the game. Unit 178 is reimbursing their clubs the $4/table for special games; those are any games above the standard masterpoint rating which pay out overall awards (and big, big masterpoints). Typically, that cost would be passed on to the player. This has been going on for a couple of months now - and if you're a fan of this program let your 178 board member know. Unit 103 is reimbursing their clubs the $21/table for Flight C stand-alone NAP games this summer. Any 103 club that holds an NAP game for Flight C players only can (in effect) run that game for free. It's an effort to promote getting more Flight C players within the NAP program. Getting players more involved in ACBL programs like the North American Pairs and getting players more and more masterpoint awards are just a couple of the things going on right now thanks to your local bridge unit. Got other ideas? Contact your unit board member and talk to them - as they are here to support you and always willing to listen to new ideas. |
  | The Spingold KOs get going today in Philadelphia PA; there are two Minnesota players among the 88 teams that have signed up for this event. Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] is on one team, and Cecelia Ehrlichman [Ann Arbor MI] is on another. Talk about fearless! All of the results for this NABC can be found by clicking here. |
 | But it's all good news! These comparative numbers for each bridge club in our state are for club tables only, and do not include any tournament action. Hopefully this trend will keep going the rest of the summer and into the fall. (Of course, you can do your part to help make it happen.) |
The #1 pair (of 36) heading into the two-session finals of the LM-6000 Life Master Pairs competition today was Andrew Caranicas [St Paul] and Richard Lawson [Plymouth]. Their first session found them with a 57.84% game this morning, a 3rd place finish in the session but still good enough to keep them in the pole position for this afternoon. Their afternoon session was a 53.86% game, good for 4th in their direction, but enough to keep them on top. Andy and Richard came in 1st overall in this event - picking up 75.00 masterpoints. Can't wait to see what they do next year with the home field advantage! Another Minnesota pair in this event, Charles Carroll [St Paul] and Paul Gutterman [Eagan], moved up from 10th place to 7th place heading into the afternoon. Their afternoon game of 54.69% helped bump them up another three spots to 4th place overall in the 0-6000 LM Pairs for 34.62 masterpoints. Also - very very nice. The #1 pair (of 36) heading into the two-session finals of the 0-3000 Pairs today was Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis]. Their 52.83% game this morning dropped them to 2nd place going into the last session of the day; but it still was good enough to win their direction in their section. This afternoon Jackson and Sarah scored a 54.90% game; but they finished 3rd overall in the 0-3000 Pairs and picked up 28.13 masterpoints for their efforts. (What a great ride this must have been!) Pointing out one board from their afternoon game in which they were the only pair of 18 to bid 7NT: 
The #34 pair (of 78) heading into the two-session finals of the Von Zedtwitz LM Pairs was Vern Swing [Minneapolis] and Keith Connolly [St Paul]. Firing up just at the right time, their 60.93% game this morning vaulted them all the way to 5th place at today's break. Whatever they had at lunch, well, we're not ordering that again, as their afternoon game felled them to 59th place overall (to be fair, this is the toughest possible crowd with which to have a sub-par session). Heads held high, though, for a wild ride in this NABC event, and of course their reward of 16.76 platinum points for all their effort. All of the results for the NABC can be found by clicking here. |  
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 | Dan Finn [St Cloud] playing with regular partner Roger Melaas [St Cloud] did some investigative bidding to count 13 tricks (that's assuming clubs break, but sometimes you've just got to go for it). Everyone else settled with a more comfortable 6♥ contract, completely understandable with a singleton ♠A, but these two who have played together for years didn't waste any time in setting the 1st ever Grand Slam at the Midtown Square location. Here's hoping it's the first of many. |
Click on any of these four boards to enlarge them and open them in a new window - and you'll get the details from Jackson himself. In addition to being a bit - well - aggressive - (after all, bridge is for bidders!) - Jackson shows how you can help to make things go right (by being in unusual contracts that others might not be in, taking advantage of opponent errors, etc.). It's good stuff. |
Minnesota is being represented quite well at the NABC in Philadelphia PA today, with some of the following results:  Charles Carroll [St Paul] and Paul Gutterman [Eagan] advanced in the LM-6000 Life Master Pairs today going into the final session this afternoon in 3rd place overall. They had a 46.54% game in the final session to finish the event 10th overall and are qualified for tomorrow's finals. Andrew Caranicas [St Paul] and Richard Lawson [Plymouth] were in the same event, also doing well, having qualified in 28th place and heading into the final session in 7th place overall (of 52). Then they had a 63.69% game in the afternoon, which pushed them to the #1 seed going into tomorrow's two-session finals. Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] held on to the top spot in the 0-3000 Life Master Pairs going into the final session today with a 57.88% game this morning. The afternoon session saw the Wahls with a 53.69% game, but this is all enough to maintain their pole position going into the 0-3000 LM Finals tomorrow. They are the #1 seed of 36 pairs for the final two sessions on Sunday - they know everyone's coming for them! (An interesting note about their carryover into tomorrow's final two sessions, they got the maximum carryover possible of 4 boards.) Updates tomorrow.
Overcall across ACBL-land, tables have mostly peaked since the return from the pandemic, and the very early table numbers from Philly appear to support that trend somewhat. It's tough to compare NABCs to one another, since they're held in different locations each year, among other things. But the good news for Minnesota (at least so far) is that there's not a massive drop off in play or in players; and next summer we can expect to play host to a terrific sized crowd. (Don't forget Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis] would love to have you as a volunteer to help out next summer. Contact her any time to get more details.) How is it going back East for those Minnesota players who have made the trek to have some fun? A look at your masterpoint leaders from our local clubs is to your right; this list is only going to get lengthier (and more robust!) as the NABC moves through this first weekend of play. And the lone Minnesota player among D14's five GNT teams playing at the NABC is Ross Anderson [Woodbury], whose Flight "C" team is playing in the semi-finals of Flight "C" today. Keep it going, Ross!
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There's more of course - Elliot Heyman [Shorewood] and his partner from New Hampshire came in 1st in the 35-pair field of 299ers this morning with a 64.87% game. Then this afternoon, the same duo took 2nd overall in the 299ers with a 62.64% game. One gets the impression Elliot might be ready to play in the big game for some gold points! (Elliot and his partner were companions of Jackson and Sarah in college here in Minnesota, and it's great to see them playing together again.) Charlie Carroll [St Paul] and Paul Gutterman [Eagan] came in 14th overall in the 0-6000 LM Pairs today and qualified to go on to tomorrow's event. They're joined in tomorrow's session with Randy Okubo [St Paul], Andrew Caranicas [St Paul], and Richard Lawson [Plymouth]. The Open LM Pairs event qualified 156 pairs to tomorrow. Coming in at #146 was Keith Connolly [St Paul] and Vern Swing [Minneapolis]. The #99 pair today in this group was Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] and Robert Schachter [Eden Prairie]. PREVIOUSLY: In addition to the two D14 teams remaining in the Grand National Teams competition, there is a new NABC+ event starting today; that would be the Life Master Pairs. It's one day of qualifying, another of semi-final action, and then a finals on the third day, and there are actually three different LM Pairs events. An Open event, a 0-6000 masterpoint limit, and a 0-3000 masterpoint limit. This is another of those events that will be held in Minneapolis next year at our NABC. Too early to make your partnerships for 2026? |
QUARTERFINALS Dave Neiman [Minneapolis] Mark Lasoff [Minneapolis] David Goodrie [Plymouth] Dave Trevor [Bloomington]  |
QUARTERFINALS Ross Anderson [Woodbury] David Nelmark [Urbandale IA] Rhonda McCoy [W Des Moines IA] Mark Feld [Bondurant IA]  |
 | Joe has been on a pretty good run of late; the chart to your left shows every pairs game Joe has played in the past three years (that's 569 pairs games, including club and tournament games). His average score over the three years is 57.09%, which is incredibly impressive. And of these 5,000 masterpoints, almost 1,000 of them have come just in the last three years. Joe's earned 810.4 masterpoints in 569 pairs games, 51.22 masterpoints in club team games, and 80.14 masterpoints in tournament team games over the past 36 months, which is a monthly average of 26.16 MPs. WOW. When you see Joe, be sure to let him know he's "done good" -- and if anyone deserved a bridge game and party to celebrate their achievement, we're sure you would agree that it's this guy. |
The five D14 GNT teams playing in their second day of matches at the NABC saw three of the five teams get upended today. (Results are just below.) Here's a shoutout to the D14 GNT Teams in Flight B, A, and the Superflight, who clearly played well to get this far. The good news is that there are two teams moving on to the quarterfinals (in the Flight B and Flight C category). Also - a reminder that this teams event will be held right here in Minneapolis next summer at the NABC here. So we're looking forward to seeing quite a few of these players once again next year. PREVIOUSLY: There are already 17 Minnesota bridge players who have earned some masterpoints at the Summer NABC, all of them having a successful day 1 in Philadelphia PA. As those matches get posted, we'll have updates below and hope they all have success again today. Lots of other events get going as this is the first day of everything else - updates to follow. |
Keith Connolly Vern Swing Bob Schachter Paul Meerschaert Paul Lewis Linda Lewis 
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Andrew Caranicas Richard Lawson Paul Gutterman Charlie Carroll  |
Jackson Wahl Sarah Wahl John Miller Tom Knier  |
Dave Neiman Mark Lasoff David Goodrie Dave Trevor  |
Ross Anderson David Nelmark Rhonda McCoy Mark Feld  |
 | PREVIOUSLY: The Summer NABC in Philadelphia PA is underway - as with every Summer NABC (including the one right here in Minneapolis next year), it's the Grand National Teams that kick things off. Here is how Minnesota's players are faring in this kickoff event: |
Keith Connolly Vern Swing Bob Schachter Paul Meerschaert Paul Lewis Linda Lewis L -9 IMPs L -2 IMPs W +43 IMPs W +11 IMPs L -7 IMPs W +4 IMPs L -9 IMPs W +12 IMPs Ending the day #11 RESULTS |
Andrew Caranicas Richard Lawson Paul Gutterman Charlie Carroll L -11 IMPs L -17 IMPs W +13 IMPs W +2 IMPs W +5 IMPs W +6 IMPs W +1 IMPs L -12 IMPs Ending the day #19 RESULTS |
Jackson Wahl Sarah Wahl John Miller Tom Knier W +4 IMPs L -14 IMPs W +6 IMPs W +8 IMPs W +19 IMPs W +25 IMPs L -4 IMPs W+19 IMPs Ending the day #2 RESULTS |
Dave Neiman Mark Lasoff David Goodrie Dave Trevor L -1 IMPs W +7 IMPs W +5 IMPs L -5 IMPs W +3 IMPs W +11 IMPs L -1 IMPs T 0 IMPs Ending the day #13 RESULTS |
Ross Anderson David Nelmark Rhonda McCoy Mark Feld W +21 IMPs W +7 IMPs L -29 IMPs L -27 IMPs L -3 IMPs W +17 IMPs W +8 IMPs W +23 IMPs Ending the day #8 RESULTS |
| Minnesota has several teams and lots of players that have already traveled to Philadelphia to compete in tomorrow's big event. They include:
Best of luck to these players and everyone who makes the journey to Philly. We'll be watching. |
A perfect example came with the D14 GNT Finals a few months ago. One of the teams playing had an ineligible player on the team (this was a player "Not In Good Standing" with the ACBL, having previously been suspended and then put on probation, and now was back; players "Not In Good Standing" are prohibited from playing in a District GNT Final, thus making them "ineligible"). The error was brought to the DIC early in the morning on day 1 of play; the decision was made to allow this player to keep playing and finish out the day, with the rest of the team allowed to compete the next day with a substitute player (the team having earned some gold points in the end). The ACBL's Code of Disciplinary Regulations spells out what could easily have taken place here, and it's not pretty for anyone:
This is not to say you should avoid playing with players that have come back from disciplinary actions imposed by the ACBL; most will have learned their lesson and should be welcomed back to the game. But it is incumbent upon YOU to know what is and is not allowed - so that you are not unknowingly putting yourself at risk of violating the ACBL's Disciplinary Regulations. You can read more about what it means to play with a player on the Players Who Are Not In Good Standing list by clicking here, and the Code of Disciplinary Regulations by clicking here. |
   | On your left, the change in table counts for each D14 club (and by each state); on your right, the percentage change in year-over-year tables for the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Every state appears to have clubs that are "winners" and "losers" when it comes to their tables in play this year so far - but for some reason Nebraska seems to stand out. |
2. Contact Patti to confirm which event(s) or day(s) you'd like to sponsor. She'll make sure your event (or day) is available to be named and get the correct name. 3. Send your check to Barry Purrington [Eagan], who is the 2026 Summer NABC Treasurer. |
 | Here's a look at this week's last crowd from the Labor Home, where the last -800 was scored for the St Cloud DBC on Thursday. Directions (to the new playing area AND parking) can be found by clicking here. They were hoping to get everything going a bit before the official August 1st date, and it sounds like they were successful. No word yet on if there is a prize for the first -800 at their new location - but anything is possible. |
Starting tomorrow (Monday), all of the St Cloud games will be at their new location in downtown St Cloud, including during the upcoming month of August. You can find directions (to the new digs and parking) by clicking here. There's a regional in Eau Claire the first week of August along with the Omaha Regional the followoing week. But locally, the Bridge Center of St Paul will have their annual NLM event in August PLUS everyone is having North American Pairs qualifiers. . .so there's a lot to consider when making out your calendar. Too many choices? Never.       |
Before we get to the new flights, the number of Minnesota players that have qualified so far for the NAP total 477 through July 15th. That number is up +34 compared to last year at this time, so that's great news! Overall, the number of Minnesota players this year is up +7.7%. You won't find too many quibbling with that increase.  What's changed, however, is the masterpoint restriction for these flights - and that could be fodder for some grumbling by the usual suspects. Flight "C" has seen a jump of +43 more Minnesota qualifiers than last year at this time; that's a terrific figure that includes a few who have between 500 and 750 but are not yet Life Masters. Those are "carryover" players to the Flight "C" from last year, since this year (for the first time) the "C" Flight is 0-750 rather than 0-500. The change in Flight "B" from 0-2500 MPs to 0-3500 MPs has allowed several Minnesota players in that 2500-3500 range (and we have quite a few) to remain in the "B" Flight. The net change for Flight "B" this year is up +14 players so far. But it is the new "A" Flight and the Championship Flight that are seeing the big shift in NAP qualification. There are 23 fewer players between this year and last for NAP qualifiers with more than 3500 MPs (38 so far, vs 61 players in 2024 through July 15). This means a smaller Flight "A" (and Championship Flight).  Remember, any player who qualifies in the NAP can always "play up" - so if an advancing player with 800 masterpoints qualifies for every flight in a club's Open game, they could theoretically play in the Championship Flight if they so chose to do so. But at the moment, it looks like a smaller group at the top - and quite a few more players at the bottom - which may be the intended consequence of the ACBL's new rules for this year. |
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 | You might want to get your partnerships in order - already - before the big rush to hook up with players gets going. If you need a partner, Bar Wijdicks [Rochester] will take care of the Open crowd this year, with Connie Dalzell [Rochester] handling the Non-Life Masters in search of a table partner. All the details can be found by checking out the flyer for this tournament, which can be found by clicking here. Oh - and Thursday is "Dress Up" Day for those inclined to walk the red carpet in style. You never know who might show up. |
The second 14 boards saw 5 major swing boards, with 3 of those going to the USA1 team. Leading 81-55 at halftime of the day, with 28 boards to go, 36 IMPs is really just three big swing boards - so although it's nice to be in the lead here, you know it's still very close. But the Netherlands team came roaring back to take the last two rounds 90-38, and put the USA1 team's plans on advancing to an end. (How did those twins from the Netherlands come up with the spade lead on board 16?) Congratulations to Cecelia Ehrlichman [Ann Arbor MI] and Kyra Helmbold [Los Gatos CA] for having played in this tournament (and doing so well). This isn't the last time that the WBF has heard from these two, we're sure. |
The next open tournament for Minnesota players will be in September, as we have our second regional of the year in Rochester. The Rochester Med City Regional will be your next chance to add to your Minnesota Tournament Masterpoints - and maybe move up a few spots on this list. |
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 | Today was Day 2 of 3 for qualifying, where they played another five teams. After having a rough first round against the Netherlands, they really bounced back winning all four remaining matches today and are now in 2nd place overall. Here is a look at today's matches, with links to each round and a swing board in each:
Tomorrow, it's China (#8), Italy (#7), Norway (#4), Israel (#16), and Japan (#6). The top 8 of 16 teams go on to the Quarterfinals on Tuesday. You know they're having fun. |
Sectional Thur August 14 Rochester  | Sectional August 20-22 Roseville  | REGIONAL Sept 15-20 Rochester  | Sectional October 3-4 Mankato  | Sectional Sat October 11 Sauk Rapids  | Sectional October 23-25 Roseville  |
    | All of that said - here are the charts. While it is true that tables this week for the Aquatennial were down from last year (and also from two years ago), there is a silver lining in this silver masterpoint tournament that can't be denied. Non-Life Masters helped make the Aquatennial a big success, and organizers should be very, very happy. Not only was the 499er share of all tables in play this week higher than last year (and rivaling 2023's share), but the number of NLM tables was up in almost every session. That's not easy to make happen. With NLMs being the future of our game, the fact that NLM tables were up compared to the other two post-pandemic Aquatennials (and not down) is terrific. Maybe the NLMs in the West Metro should have their own NLM Sectional? Finally - this tournament was supported (and even chaired) for many years by Tom Botten [Prior Lake] who we lost just last month - and somehow it seems kind of fitting to have held the Aquatennial within a week of Tom's Celebration of Life. Here is a reminder that this Thursday, July 17th at 12:30pm is a half-hour visitation, followed by Tom's Celebration of Life at 1pm at the Lakewood Memorial Chapel, 3600 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408. If you're inclined to stop by, there's also a reception immediately following at the Lakewood Garden Mausoleum. |
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The promotional price for joining from a guest membership in the ACBL to full membership is currently $29, but the ACBL has alerted (!) that this price tag is expected to go up in October. Whether this means all ACBL fees and charges will be going up is yet to be seen, but bridge may once again be getting more expensive. An update on pricing and fees is expected later this summer. In the meantime, the ACBL has made it easier for guest membership sign-ups; you used to have to include all kinds of information (the same as a regular membership) but now they require only first and last name along with an email. |
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 | Our interest in this event that is a third of the world away? One former Minnesota player (and now doctorate student at the University of Michigan) Cecelia Ehrlichman [Ann Arbor MI] is on the US team of the Women's U26ers. We will have updates on how the US Team is doing as the play gets going, and hope for the best of luck to Cecelia and her teammates.  |
Two more days of action in Maple Grove! |  |
 | Joe was followed by Teri Blu [Bloomington], who picked up a nice 23.99 masterpoints in Minnesota clubs last month - and Keith Connolly came in 3rd. Your "Top Ten" list for this month is located to your left. |
 | PREVIOUSLY: The Aquatennial Sectional gets going this morning! Todd Flowerday [Coon Rapids] who is this year's partnership chair sent a photo of the room after set-up this morning; it's a great facility in which to play. Directions to the Maple Grove Community Center can be found by clicking here, and the flyer for this tournament can be found by clicking here. |
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  | On the left - the top chart shows the average number of tables per day of the week for D14 STACs. (NOTE that some D14 STACs include other districts, in order to maximize payouts. The STAC tournaments used here for comparative purposes are the D14 STACs that are for D14 clubs only, and don't include other parts of the country.) The bottom chart (left) shows the relative comparative daily table counts to our pre-COVID era. A couple of notes that have skewed some of the daily comparisons: first, there were a couple of healthy Friday evening games pre-pandemic that didn't return. . .so Friday's comparative tables are way down, thanks to that AND that this year games were canceled due to Friday falling on the 4th of July. Second, there are a couple of Saturday morning games now in effect that were not in play before 2020, so Saturday's comparative tables are through the roof. But overall, the STAC tables in play are about 65.5% what they were before the pandemic. Like any other face-to-face bridge competition (whether a club game or a regional tournament), this is somewhat to be expected. You can help improve these numbers when our next STAC tournament rolls around in September. PLUS you can get a lot of silver points in the comfort of your own club. That happens the last week in September, so you won't have too long to wait. |
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Participating clubs in this game can be found by clicking here. So far, three clubs are offering the game (the Bridge Center of St Paul, Woodbury, and Rochester). If your local bridge club is not listed, check with your local bridge manager or club owner to see if they're willing to participate in the Wednesday afternoon excitement - it's not too late - and then get a partner to play. The top award in every district is 10.00 MPs - so it's a great opportunity to score some masterpoints, |
Every Minnesota player (including us serfs) who earned some multi-pigmented scratch this past week is listed on the chart to your right. Click on it to enlarge it and open it in a new window - and we'll do it all again at the next Royal STaC coming up in September. |  |
Isaac Beaty [Kali] Rylan Cooper [Kalispell MT] Patrick Garcia [St Paul] Jenna Grummons [Rush City] Steve Magnuson [St Louis Park] Chris Mortika [Eden Prairie] Melissa Huffer [Lindstrom] Avarie Jacobsmeyer [Kalispell MT] Lynn Kelzenberg [St Cloud] Amy Laumeyer [St Cloud] Jessica Randall [Center City] Melanie Stier [Osakis] Lisa Webster [St Paul] Harris Vandrovec [Eden Prairie] |
 | If you're not sure if you are one of the 401 Minnesota qualifiers - then click here to check out the ACBL's master list for Minnesota's two units. |
Marylou Doerrie [Coon Rapids] has taken over the top spot on the leaderboard for the week so far, followed closely by Todd Flowerday [Coon Rapids]. But there is still time to catch them! There are two bridge games left in Minnesota during this STaC Weekend, with the 12:30pm game held at the Bridge Center of St Paul this afternoon - and another game in Roseville at 6:30pm tomorrow. Both of these games are open masterpoint games, so everyone can play - and anyone can get some big points. |  |
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| It's Pair/Team games and 499er pairs Wednesday and Thursday, and then Friday's Swiss Teams to complete the tournament. The flyer is just to your left. Have a great weekend THIS weekend and we will see you next week. |
The Edina Senior Center is closed on Friday; so no Plymouth BC game this week there. The St Cloud DBC cancelled their Thursday and Friday games this week; and the Rochester DBC cancelled their online game Friday. Whatever your plans this weekend, stay safe and we'll see you back at the table next week! |
NOTE that there is a delay with the overall awards posting of 24-48 hours; the ACBL wants to make sure that everyone has a chance to submit their gamefile to get counted. . .and sometimes that takes a day or two. All points will be listed as silver until next week, when the magic happens and it gets posted as 25% gold, 25% red, 25% silver, and 25% black. |  |
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Looking at club tables during the first six months of the year, it's a bit of a mixed bag compared to 2024. ("Club tables" here would be face-to-face club tables only, with no tournament tables or online tables included in these table counts.) For the first 26 weeks of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, the overall Minnesota table count is up by 59 tables. Last year, Minnesota had 4,920.5 tables in play from Jan 1 to June 30. This year it was 4,979.5 (see the chart below on the right for how we're doing with nearby states). The chart below on the left shows Twin Cities Metro area club tables are off by -2.0% so far this year (3,010 vs 3,072 last year). Outstate club tables are up by +6.5% over the same period (1,970 vs 1,849), but as is typically the case with statistics, there's more to the story. There's no greater effort made by a Minnesota club to drum up players and provide their bridge players with opportunities (and fun) than the St Cloud DBC covering Greater Central Minnesota - and it shows. All of the outstate's increase during this period came from St Cloud, who picked up +130 tables since last year (see the second chart from the left). Without those St Cloud numbers, outstate Minnesota tables were essentially flat over the first half of 2025 (-0.2%), with statewide tables off by -1.4%. We're all familiar with the present trend in table counts, and of course it's not a trend that is limited to Minnesota, nor is it a trend that's likely to change. But since we are unable to bottle whatever is in the water up in St Cloud, it's all the more important to help out at your local club - volunteering, teaching, encouraging new members and being an active part of your local club (and unit!). That can only help our 2nd half 2025 table counts and (more importantly) our bridge community overall. |
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 | Here is the scoop from Todd Flowerday [Coon Rapids], the BCSP's Assistant Manager:
Perhaps a wake-up call that other Minnesota bridge players are pursuing the Life Master goal, NLM Linus Bendel-Stenzel and partner topped the game, and a NLM pair finished 3rd. It seems like once you make Life Master, the competition comes from below as well as above." --Todd Flowerday |
