DISTRICT 24 Newsletter                                                  2001.3

By Alvin Levy

 Las Vegas Fall North American Bridge Championships breaks Fall attendance record

The table count at the Las Vegas NABC was 16,818 tables, far above all previous Fall championships and above expectations.  Las Vegas now holds the record for the Summer and Fall championships while nearby Reno holds the record for the Spring championship.

 Las Vegas NABC is Truly International

Players from at least 29 non-ACBL nations competed in Las Vegas: Europe led with eighteen nations; three South American countries; three Far East nations; two Middle East nations; three nations from the Caribbean; and one from Oceania.  Some players from Indonesia tried to come but ran into visa problems and approximately 100 players from Japan and China cancelled reservations after September 11^th.

The players from non-ACBL countries with the most success were: Piotr Gawrys - Jacek Pszczola, Poland, won the Life Master Open Pairs and finished 4^th in the NA Swiss Teams; Nafiz Zorlu - Salvador Assael, Turkey, won the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon pairs; Norberto Bocci - Giorgio Duboin - Alfredo Versace - Lorenzo Laurie, Italy, finished 2^nd in the Open B-A-M Teams and in the Reisinger B-A-M Teams.

District 24 players do their thing…placing high in NABC+ championship events

The top spots of NABC+ events are usually filled with District 24 players, and the Las Vegas Fall NABCs was no exception.

Zia was 2^nd in the Life Master Pairs, John Rengstroff placed 9^th, Jill Levin - Barry Rigal, 11^th, and Alan Truscott, 16^th.

Fourth in the Life Master Women’s Pairs was Susan Wexler - Margie Gwozdzinsky.  Roberta Magnus placed 13^th; Claire Torney - Barbara Haberman, 17^th; Susan Picus, 19^th; and Sylvia Moss - Judi Radin, 20^th.

Max Minzner won the Non-Life Master Pairs.

A big win for Alan Sontag in the Open B-A-M Teams with the same team that won the Bermuda Bowl.  Other high finishers included Mark Feldman, 3^rd; Richard Schwartz - Larry Cohen - David Berkowitz - Michael Rosenberg - Zia Mahmood, 4^th; Michael Polowan - Chris Willenken - Aaron Silverstein, 5^th; Roy Welland - Bjorn Fallenius - Brad Moss, 8^th; John Rengstorff - Adam Wildavsky, 9^th; Jim Krekoria, 15^th; Ira Ewen - Eugene Proznitz, 16^th; and Michael Moss, 18^th.

Winning the Women’s B-A-M was Valerie Westheimer.  Judi Radin - Sylvia Moss finished 3^rd; Susan Wexler - Margie Gwozdzinsky, 4^th; Jill Levin, 5^th ; and Dorothy Truscott 7^th.

District players fittingly captured many of the top spots in the premier pair event, the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs, Bobby Levin - Steve Weinstein placed 5^th; Bob Blanchard - Sam Lev, 6^th; Roy Welland - Bjorn Fallenius, 9^th; Zia, 12^th; Ira Ewen - David Gurvich, 15^th; Michael Polowan, 16^th; and David Berkowitz - Larry Cohen, 20^th.

A big win in the Reisinger B-A-M Teams for Roy Welland - Bjorn Fallenius - Brad Moss, after a late night Appeals Committee decision…see the ACBL website for a write-up of the Appeal.  Sontag was 3^rd; Richard Schwartz - Larry Cohen - David Berkowitz – Zia - Michael Rosenberg, 5^th; Nick Nickell, 9^th; Mark Feldman, 11^th; Michael Moss, 13^th; and Margie Gwozdzinsky, 14^th.

Top 20 finishers in the North American Swiss Teams were Claire Tornay - Paul Morris, 12^th, Janet and Mel Colchamiro 15^th.    

Board of Director’s Actions

New CEO Approved
After a lengthy CEO search process and final review by the Board of Directors, an offer of employment has been made.  Wayne Hascall, District 12 Director, has been acting as interim CEO.  If hired, the new CEO will start at the beginning of 2002.

New Senior Events
Under review is a recommendation for new senior events based on age.  Right now senior events have a minimum age restriction of 55 years.  In addition to the 55+ senior events now run, new events with minimum age limitations of 65 and 75, are being considered.  An event will be stratified either by age of MPs.

Flight A Grand National Teams
Flight A GNTs (0-5000 MPs) will be a regular event.  The first two Flight A GNTs were run on an experimental basis.  Most Districts reported that the Flight A event increased their overall participation, so the event was permanently added.  

Inter-Club Championship Games
Inter-Club games are club duplicate games, played at many clubs simultaneously, and scored electronically across the field.  The results, and possibly an analysis, are reported on the Internet.  Now these games can offer Inter-Club Championship Games, similar to those clubs offer for their regular games.  

New Alert Procedures
A revised Alert system will go into effect January 1, 2002.  Every three years the Alert procedure is reviewed, with the next review scheduled for January 1, 2005.  The updated Alert procedure will be published on the ACBL website.