  | Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis] and Peg Waller [Edina] played in the Open Pairs event on Saturday; they were among 104 pairs in the competition, with a 52.76% game in the morning; they didn't fare quite as well in the afternoon but picked up 1.34 red points for their effort. (Patti is also likely doing a bit of reconnaissance for next summer's big tournament in Minneapolis.) Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] and Linus Bendel-Stenzel [Richfield] played in the morning side game Saturday, picking up 2.45 red points with a nice 55.73% game. Where Sarah goes, Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] tends to follow, and he played in the afternoon side game with Kimberly Hayward [Bayport] - who is working at the NABC starting today. Jackson and Kimberly had a 62.78% game, good for 1st place in the 18-table afternoon side game and 6.07 gold/red points. Randy Okubo [St Paul] played in the 0-10K Swiss Teams, and Marc Ashton [Excelsior] is out west also, earning 4.32 gold points today playing in the Bracketed Round Robin teams. The Minnesota party is underway! |
 | You can purchase an entry for yourself - or someone else - once Entry Express opens up for entry purchases. That won't be until later this spring. But in the meantime, create a note card that lets them know you're thinking of them this season - and are going to provide a gift that you know they will use. (Plus, the gift wrapping is ridiculously easy.) |
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73.15% Tom Grue + Keith Connolly, Bridge Center of St Paul, 11/7 70.14% Mike Schultz + Colin Campbell, Duluth, 11/24 HONORABLE MENTION: 69.91% Joan Cassel + David Juberien, Mankato DBC, 11/12 LIMITED MASTERPOINT GAMES: 72.92% Gary Falkenstein + Connie Falkenstein, Rochester DBC, 11/13 71.27% David Niles + Huldah Niles, WMSD, 11/7 70.14% Ruth Brunelle + George Holmquist, Plymouth Bridge Club, 11/4 CHAT BRIDGE GAMES: 71.24% Jim Hall + Liz Haynes, Bridge Center of St Paul, 11/20 71.00% Athur Boylan + Ronald Harry, Bridge Center of St Paul, 11/20 |
 | This year's charity in Roseville for this tournament will be the Minnesota Bridge Education Fund, who does amazing work - and if you'd like to make a personal donation to the Bridge Education Fund while in Roseville next month, remember that it's tax-deductible. |
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The Bridge Center of St Paul will hold a Club Championship game today at 10:00am - there's an online BBO game hosted by the Rochester DBC at 12:30pm this afternoon - St Cloud is hosting a game at 12:30pm - and the Minneapolis Grand Slam Club is having a FREE game of bridge tonight at 6:30pm in Roseville. It's good to have options. |
 | One could probably devote an entire blog to these scam emails alone - and we won't try to keep up with every one that you might get. But once again, the telltale signs are there that this is not from Steve Gaynor. The return email address is not his - and equally important is that it asks you to "make a payment". Delete this email if it comes into your email box, along with any one that looks like it. Bridge players should spend their money on card fees, and not scams. If it looks even the least bit suspicious, ignore it. |
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   | First, from January 1 to November 10, this year Minnesota saw more F2F club tables than other states. That's to be expected, as Minnesota has the larger population (in some cases by quite a bit) and a larger number of bridge players. Second, the growth for our state will be positive this year - when many states across ACBLland are going negative (a few of those nearby). This has less to do with our favorable relative bridge population compared to these other states and more to do with the bridge players we have - the options they have - and how they take advantage of those options. That's good news. Wisconsin's year-over-year growth is in the double-digits, while Nebraska's decline since 2024 (down -5.0%) isn't good news for our friends in the Cornhusker state. South Dakota has seen the largest drop in year-over-year club tables, but that is because they have only two bridge clubs (that operate small games) along with a small number of tables to start with. Any change up or down will show as a big swing for them. Third, the change in the share of the Midwest's bridge tables this year shows Minnesota's share has increased since 2024. The relative health of bridge in our state is looking pretty good, as only Wisconsin had a bigger improvement in their share of club tables from last year. Most states showed little change (as one might expect), with Nebraska shedding the biggest share of tables. (With the 5,091 tables in play in Nebraska so far this year, they're not in a doom spiral, but you can bet they'd prefer to be showing positive numbers here.) And finally, below is a look at the six-week rolling average of F2F tables here in Minnesota; it includes both local clubs and tournaments, but there's no online tables there. We're still doing better than last year - it's all good news. Of course it can always be better - and that's something everyone should be striving for, especially in this environment. But it could also be much worse, and for Minnesota, holding our own at this point in the game is something for which to be thankful. |
 | BRIDGE BLOG: Everyone has their own story about how they came to play this great game - could you explain a bit about how you got to the table? DAN G: I was first introduced to bridge by my mother and grandfather when I was a youth. After not playing very much over the years, I thought it might be a good activity to take up in my retirement. I "googled" bridge clubs in the Twin Cities and discovered The Bridge Center of Saint Paul - I was hooked! What a challenging and fascinating game it is. I decided to try to make Life Master while my mom is still around. I did it! She is 87 and going strong. I’ve played three times a week and just about every day in the local tournaments. I even played four years in the Tucson Regional while there on vacation. BB: It's hard to achieve this level of success you have without some great partners (and frequently teachers) - who would you credit to having helped you get to this point so far? DG: I have to give a lot of credit to my various partners: Ravi Mahant, Tom Owens, Earl Connor, Gary Roland (my mentor), and Tom Bedford (in order of appearance). Special thanks also goes out to coaches Bill Voedisch and Todd Flowerday. I’ve taken about five classes at the Bridge Center (taught by Larry Huiras and Jackson Wahl) and would strongly encourage anyone looking to improve their game to look into classes at their local club. There’s no way that I could’ve made Life Master without them. BB: Is there any particular event (or even bridge hand) that sticks out in your mind over this journey to this point? DG: I remember playing a game early in my career where I bid Gerber, later discovering that my partner didn’t play it. After an incomprehensible series of bids, I finally bid 6NT out of desperation. Shockingly, we made the bid - not so shocking, it was the top board because no one else had such a screwed up auction! BB: Finally, is there anything else about how bridge has impacted you that you'd like to share? DG: An unexpected benefit of bridge has been the social aspect. When you retire from a long-term job, you lose a large chunk of your social network. For me, that has been smoothly replaced with the fabulous people I’ve met at the Saint Paul Club. When asked by people what I do to exercise my mind in retirement, I say I play bridge. When they ask what I do to exercise my body, I say I play East-West [smiles]. |
 | PREVIOUSLY: Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, or more appropriately, for your Wednesday club bridge game - it's the first snowfall dump of the season. Most of the heavier snow should end before 8am on Wednesday, however strong blustery winds will make travel (and measuring snow depth) difficult. Check with your local club before heading out just to make sure the game is on - presently the National Weather Service has a Winter Storm Warning in effect through 9am on Wednesday. |
Terry Beckman | Gold | Jackson Wahl | Gold | Linus Bendel-Stenzel | Gold |
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Kurt Schaeffer | Gold | Rolf Hubmayr | Gold | Mark Feld | Gold |
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Gerry Keith | Gold | Kristine Verdin | Gold |
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Mark Lasoff | Gold | |||||||
Deborah Weiss | Gold | |||||||
Paul Wehrman | Gold |
You can get a look at everyone's scoring and masterpoint awards in this D14 NAP Final by clicking here. Tables in this past weekend's North American Pairs D14 Finals were down from last year, off -2.5 tables (or -14.7%). Prior to the introduction of Covid, there were regularly twice as many tables in the D14 NAP competition (this was a time when the D14 NAP Finals were held in person, rotating locations from year-to-year). The 14.5 tables that entered the weekend competition matched the lowest number of tables in the NAP for D14 in the past 20 years. Hopefully this is a trend that will be reversed next year, but for now it's all about the players that played this past weekend, having had fun and enjoying some bridge (while earning BIG gold points and many moving on to the NABC next spring). The North American Pairs are a great part of bridge (and a really fun event - ask anyone that's played in it!). |
 | Lance was a fixture both in Rochester bridge and bridge in Minnesota for several decades. He most recently became an Emerald Life Master, playing at the Rochester DBC right up until about six weeks ago. He ran his own bridge club "Bridge on Broadway" almost 30 years ago, and has been a long-time supporter of Unit 103 as their financial advisor. And he was a regular at NABCs, the Gatlinburg and Hilton Head Regionals, and more. Here at home, many Minnesota bridge players knew Lance - and have a good story or two to share. Should services (or arrangements) be planned and made public, we'll have an update. From Sue Greenberg [Byron], manager of the RDBC and good friend of Lance:
Lance was instrumental to bridge both in Rochester and at the state level since the 70s. Locally, he was a club manager, director, and an excellent player. At the state level, he served on Unit 103 board for decades as treasurer and then as financial advisor, keeping the unit solvent. He loved travelling to nationals, usually alone. He would pick up partners, play for a week, and do very well. While he was quiet and reserved, my husband, Rich, (a bridge roadie, doesn’t play, just travels with me) could get him to laugh out loud at our happy hour following the afternoon session. He always would keep me on the straight and narrow when I messed up as club manager. As his health deteriorated (eyesight and other issues), he still played a mean game of bridge! He will be missed. --Sue Greenberg, Rochester Club Manager, Unit 103 President |
There will be a game on Friday, November 28th at 10:00am Woodbury - there is no game or lessons on Thursday, November 27th Rochester - there is no 749er game on Thursday afternoon, November 27th Northfield - there is no afternoon game on Thursday, November 27th St Cloud - there is no evening game on Thursday, November 27th There will be a game on Friday, November 28th at 12:30pm West Metro Social Duplicate - there is no game on Friday morning, November 28th Maple Grove Metro - there is no game on Thursday, November 27th |
 | Flight "C" players Fay Debellis [North Oaks] and Linus Bendel-Stenzel [Richfield] overcame a rough first round to finish with two top rounds and a second-place round in their last three matches to come out on top with a 58.13% average! In Flight "B", there was little drama as Andrew Caranicas [St Paul] and Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] started out strong and kept it going through all four sessions. And in the Superflight/"A" group, David Collins [Fridley] and Terry Beckman [Brooklyn Park] came out on top of the six pairs in that flight. Congratulations to all of the players and hopefully everyone had fun this weekend. |
This year, Andy Caranicas [St Paul] and Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] started out strong and have not lett up on the gas in Flight "B", but the race for the other three spots is tight. It's anyone's game in Flight "C", which was tied after two sessions yesterday, and in the SuperFlight + "A" group, three of the six pairs will go on to the national finals (if an "A" pair qualifie, they'll have to state which flight in which they want to compete). (Edited for SuperFlight/"A" pair entry qualification.) An update on the winners coming tonight. |
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 | AFTERNOON UPDATE: We're at the break between sessions on day 1, and after one session of cards your leaders in each of the flights are listed on the chart to your left. You can click on the chart to enlarge it and open it in a new window. Another round of cards comes up tonight at 5pm, then there's a break until tomorrow afternoon. As with any big competition like this, it's more of a marathon (and less of a sprint) - these scores will count for 25% of the overall score in this contest. We will see what transpires this evening and then start all over again for the last two sessions tomorrow. And remember - these are unofficial results - nothing is for real until the ACBL says it is. PREVIOUSLY: And they are off! Everyone playing in the NAP will get going this afternoon at 1pm. Watch for updates at the break (and later tonight). |
Of course, it's not Steve Gaynor that sent this email - but they've made it look like he did as much as they could. Besides the fact that this isn't written in the style of email conversation that Steve is known for, there are several tells that you should ignore this - even if ignoring Steve is not your go-to response. First, the return address is not his. The domain @gmx.ch is a free email service (much like gmail) that is coming to you today from Switzerland (the .ch is the country code for Switzerland). Not all email servers will display the return address - they may just display the name of the person they claim to be the sender - which might make it more difficult to spot as a scam. Second, look for spelling or formatting errors. They're quite common with scam emails. And does this sound like the person that (allegedly) sent it? Not that Steve wouldn't want your help to support a charity, he might, but can you picture him asking this to you - in person - verbatim - as written? Third, anytime an email asks for money - that's the strike three with these scam emails. In this most recent case above, the email asks you to respond for more details. Don't do it. If you respond to this email, your email box will be marked as someone who engages with these scam emails - and you'll get a lot more of them. If you're wondering how this happens in the first place, someone (or some computer) will go to a website and scrub it for information - who is the President of the organization, who is listed on the website as members, if they have emails, etc. It happens everywhere, and it happens with bridge players, and we don't want you to get scammed. (Neither does Steve.) |
 | All of the details can be found in the flyer to your left, which you can click on to open in a new window (for perusing or printing). Steve will be teaching lessons in Minnetonka on Monday mornings from 10am to 12pm - (there's no bridge game attached at this time) - but partners are guaranteed and Steve has a lot to offer whether you're new to the game or looking to brush up on your skills. |
 | Dan's move to the next rank in his bridge journey happened yesterday evening, as he played in the ACBL's online regional-at-home. Playing with Tom Bedford [St Paul], they scored a a 60.61% game in the second session of the online Gold Rush to earn 0.83 red points. That is all that Dan needed to carry himself across the line and become a Life Master - and we say "well done." (The funny part of this story is that Dan and Tom were not even planning to play in the online regional - they were recruited to fill in for the second session of this Gold Rush - playing only one of the sessions as a fill-in pair, they didn't win any gold points despite having a better score than the overall winning pair.) What was Dan's reaction to it all? Here's what he had to say:
--Dan UPDATE: Dan wasn't kidding about buying the first round of drinks after the game today - with 19 tables having showed up for the mentor game, that is going to be quite the celebration. |
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 | Here is a look at the schedule for some of our local clubs:
PREVIOUSLY:  The Duluth Duplicate group is having their holiday party on Monday, December 8th. It's being held at Boomtown, which is located at the corner of Rice Lake and Martin Roads in Duluth. You should come with a partner, and there is a $25 cost for the party - that includes the food, fun, and festivities. Everything kicks off with a social hour at 10:30am, followed by lunch at 11:15am (soup, salad, and a sandwich buffet), with the bridge game at 12:00pm. You will need to register to attend - and should do so before November 26th. Shoot an email to duluthduplicatebridge@gmail.com. The Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club is holding their holiday party on Monday, December 8th. It'll be held at St Luke's Episcopal Church (their usual playing location), with the catered lunch at 11:00am and bridge at 12:30pm. There is no chat bridge for this Monday. Sign up no later than November 24th - and everyone who shows up to chow and have some cards will be able to bring a "plus one". The Bridge Center of St Paul isn't have just one holiday party - they're holding a whole series of holiday parties! There'll be five parties in all, starting with the Thursday afternoon "chat bridge" and mentor game on Thursday, December 18th. The Sunday evening game at 6:30pm on December 21st will get its own holiday get-together, as well the open pairs on Tuesday, December 23rd. This is all followed by a fourth event on Friday, December 26th, with the open and 499er pairs on Monday, December 29th wrapping it all up. There's no additional cost to these events at the BCSP, only the standard card fee of $10 for non-members and $8 for BCSP members. Players attending these games are asked to bring something savory or something sweet to share. Advance sign-ups aren't neccessary for these bridge games in Roseville.We have yet to hear of holiday bridge plans from any other Minnesota clubs - but they've been contacted for the scoop - and once they let us know when to show up and what to bring, you'll see that update here. |
This year, there are 14.5 tables of players taking place in the D14 NAP Finals, with 2 tables in the Championship flight, 1 table in the "A" Flight, 7.5 tables in the "B" flight, and 4 tables of "C" Flight players. This year's D14 Conditions of Contest say that the Championship and "A" flight players will be combined; lots of pairs are expected to qualify for the spring NABC, and lots of fun expected to take place across four sessions of bridge this weekend. Everything gets going Saturday afternoon at 1pm; we'll have live results posted here on the blog as the competition takes place. Four sessions of bridge will determine who goes to the NABC in St Louis next spring to represent D14 - and very possibly the state of Minnesota. |  |
Sectional December 11-14 Roseville | Sectional Fri December 19 Minnetonka  | Sectional January 29-Feb 1 Roseville  | Sectional Feb 26-March 1 TBA  | Sectional March 26-28 St Paul  | Sectional April 16-18 Rochester  |
So it's great news that the West Metro Social Duplicate game in Minnetonka is still going strong. Having started back in July, the crew in Minnetonka has been regularly seeing between six to eight tables each Friday morning. PLUS there's a one-day NLM sectional they'll hold next month. (We have been told by a reasonably reliable source that they've got plenty of room for additional players, if you'd like to check it out.) This is an Open game every Friday morning, so all players are welcome - and their website can be found by clicking here. |    |
Here in Minnesota, our most recent statistics (from September 1) show our year-over-year membership is down as well. . .but our state's ACBL membership is off by -5.5%, which is slightly better than the overall national picture. However you are helping your local club (and/or unit) in recruiting and retaining players, keep up the good work! And if you're not yet involved in helping to keep this great game going, there is no better time to get involved. |  |
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If you haven't sent in the required information and entry fee, don't delay any longer. Get ready to get online the weekend of November 22 and battle for the chance to take on the rest of the ACBL pairs for District 14. Our District has made a good showing in all of our strata's in the past. Compete against your peers and bring home the bragging rights! See you online November 22. -- Keith |  |
The Bridge Center of St Paul in Roseville will be holding their Holiday Sectional just four weeks out - you probably have your partnerships already set for this festive silver-point affair, but if not, get going! Their flyer is to your right (you can click on it to open it and enlarge it in a new window for perusing or printing). . .and their schedule this year includes pair/team games Thursday through Saturday, with Swiss Teams and lunch included on Sunday. A reminder that the Vikings game the Sunday of this tournament is not until 7:20pm, so you can play bridge all day and still catch the football game. How great is that!? | |
Tables this week were up +66.4% compared to the first week of fundraising (that was back in August), which means the word is getting out. That translates to an additional $1,172 for the Fundraising Committee, which is a terrific amount. What is really impressive about this past week is that every state within District 14 had more NABC Fundraiser tables in play - some by quite a bit! Overall this past week, 293 tables of bridge players helped to raise some funds for the cause. There's one more week coming up in May; so watch for another week of fundraising to come. And of course, you can always make a donation to Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis] at any time. |   |
Your Minnesota "Top 10" players for last month are listed to your right. These masterpoint totals are face-to-face games only (nothing online) and are club games only (no tournament masterpoints are included here). Congratulations to everyone who made the list (and those who did not but still had fun at the table). |  |
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It all starts with the upcoming Summer NABC. This effectively canceled Unit 178's Aquatennial Sectional for 2026 (as their Aquatennial is normally held in July); so an offer was made to Unit 178 to hold their Aquatennial during Gopher week (since there's no Gopher Regional in 2026). But Unit 178 turned that offer down, opting instead to apply for a sanction to hold their Aquatennial in mid-March. With Unit 103's Bridge Center of St Paul's Leap Into Spring Sectional already on the calendar, this created two sectionals within three weeks of each other - and in the same location. This scheduling conflict led the BCSP to cancel their tournament at the beginning of March, as they thought these tournaments would be just too close together (especially considering they'd both be in the same St. Paul location). And yet - there's a happy ending - as the BCSP jumped at the chance to run their tournament during the same Gopher week that 178 had turned down. (Are you keeping all of this straight? Because there's more.) Finally, with the week of the Gopher in 2026 also being the third and final week of local NABC fundraising, Unit 103's tournament in Roseville will be making a very healthy donation to the NABC fundraising committee. (Trust us, it'll be more than if metro clubs ran their typical NABC fundraising games that week). So it looks like it's a win-win-win for everyone, and that's never a bad thing. Schedules and flyers for these tournaments are not yet out - but once they're issued, we'll have them posted here online. Just know there's going to be lots of bridge and lots of fun, even if things are a bit jumbled up during the spring of next year.  |
 | Region 5 encompasses all of Districts 12, 13, and 14, from Michigan and northern Ohio to the Dakotas and Nebraska. That's 17 bridge units - some large, some small - but of these 17 units, 15 of them failed to make their previous 11% reimbursement under the old program. Only 2 bridge units actually did better under this program, and not by much. Overall, Region 5 as a whole is almost $4,000 poorer through this new program - and that is just for the past three months. Remember that by getting involved with your local club and unit you can help to stem this tide - but it takes work! Presently, a bit more work than is currently being expended. |
Roger Clarke [Minneapolis] Sherri Dumond [Edina] |
 | PREVIOUSLY: We're right in the midst of the second of three weeks where clubs are able to raise money for our local NABC fundraising effort - while providing players with "triple masterpoint" awards. The previous week was back at the end of August, and this time around the word has really gotten around - as Warren Nelson [Cloquet] and his PR Committee have done a great job reaching out to other District 14 clubs. Already through just the first two days of the fundraising week, there have been 121 NABC fundraising tables. As one would expect, the majority of these hae been held in Minnesota clubs (63.7%), but this week the rest of District 14 has really stepped up as well. Back in August, there were 16 total NABC fundraising tables outside Minnesota; here in week 2, there's already been 44 tables outside of Minnesota. (And we're not yet to Wednesday's games.) When you see your club offering these games, be sure to support them - earn some extra points - and know that the extra dollar you're paying is going to help a great local cause. Every dollar helps! |
 | The "Most Valuable Player" for Duluth this year is Carol Pearson [Duluth], who played in the most Duluth bridge games during the year. (The "MVP" moniker designates the individual who paid the most in card fees over the course of the period, helping to keep the club going!) |
 | The "John Koch Player of the Year" Award, so named for the St Cloud player who is far and away the premier guy at the table, goes to Maurice Evans [Willmar]. Maurice's 57.93% average over the year barely bested Joe Lisbon's [St Cloud] 57.61% for the big prize. Of the St Cloud "regulars" (those that play year-round), it was Connie Nelson [Avon] with the top average score of 57.59%. Her score was averaged over 116 games (which is an impressive average over that many games). The "Team Player of the Year" award goes to Brian-Paul Crowder [Little Falls], whose playing in 25 team games this year was tops among all St Cloud players - and the "Most Valuable Player" Award, so named for the person who played more often than anyone else at the club (and therefore paid more money in entry fees than anyone else) - that went to Dave Boushek [St Cloud]. Dave played in 210 of the 225 games this past twelve months, which means there's a better than 90% chance you'll see him at the game in which you play. Now we start counting towards 2026! |
 | Already, 240 Minnesota players have qualified to go on in this competition - to play in the D14 Finals on BBO in March, and possibly to represent Minnesota right here in Minneapolis at the GNT Championships which will be held at this summer's NABC. With two months down of the six month qualifying period, the ACBL has finally issued their list of qualified-players-to-date. That list of qualified players is to your left - click on the list to expand it and open it in a new window.  |
 | All Minnesota clubs are allowed to run "triple-masterpoint" games next week, at just an extra $1 per player, to benefit our local NABC fundraising drive. Check with your local club to see when these games are happening - and if they're not on the schedule, it's not too late to schedule them through Sunday. |
 | Overall Minnesota club table growth for 2025 estimated at +4.8% (10,635 tables).St Cloud will have overtaken Rochester to become 3rd biggest bridge club in the state.Minnetonka Social Duplicate club will account for 5.3% of Unit 178's growth in 2025.Outstate Minnesota's year-over-year growth increases from +3.9% last year to +7.7%.Metro Area's year-over-year growth still positive, while lowering from +11.1% in 2024 to +3.0% this year. (((X/Z)*L)+L) where X=the number of a particular club's tables for the last ten weeks of 2024; Z=the total number of that club's total tables in all of 2024; and L=the number of tables for that club so far in 2025 with the same ten weeks to go. The exceptions being Detroit Lakes DBC, as they do not operate during the last ten weeks of the year, the West Metro Social Duplicate club, as they did not operate in 2024, and neither did the Minn Grand Slam Club.] The overall table growth estimate for Minnesota's clubs looks to be +4.8%; that's lower than last year's official +8.2% figure, but it is still in positive territory, and that's good news. Both the year-over-year figures for Woodbury and the Metro Area compared to 2024 are skewed a bit: Woodbury saw explosive growth in 2024 which was not sustainable throughout 2025, so their Y-O-Y growth of +30.5% last year fell to (an estimated) +11.5% this year. And the Metro Area's Y-O-Y change in club tables dropped from +11.1% in 2024 to an estimated +3.0% here. Again - these are all positive numbers, and that's good. The 2025 estimates are all in a table to your left, broken down by club, unit, and geographic area. NOTE these are no tournament tables or online tables included here, strictly face-to-face numbers. We'll see how close these figures are to the real thing in 10 weeks. |