DISTRICT 24
NEWSLETTER Alvin
Levy Volume 03.1
Published after each NABC
|
P |
hiladelphia’s attendance more
than met expectations at 10,850 tables.
There were concerns that the relatively high hotel rates at the Marriott
would limit attendance and cause us not to meet our room block minimum. This was not the case. We met our room block requirement so there
was no extra charge for the playing space and the table count was slightly
above expectations. Those that stayed
at the host hotel found the extra cost well worth the convenience.
The District 4 sponsoring
organization ran a variety of fun late-night activities and free food for all
to enjoy. Add to this the many
excellent restaurants nearby and you end up with a good time in Philly. Having all the playing space in one Hotel,
on two adjacent floors, was very convenient and led to many more players taking
part in the late-night activities. There
were many compliments about this NABC and few complaints. Attending an NABC is usually a great
experience, and the Philly NABC was one of the best. 2003 still offers a summer NABC in Long Beach and a Fall NABC in
New Orleans. Treat yourself to a
special bridge experience…attend an NABC…and put the 2004 summer NYC NABC on
your calendar now.
District 24 players always
have a good showing in NABC+ events, and the spring 2003 NABC was no exception.
In the North American Open Pairs - Flight A, Joe Grue –
John Kranyak placed 6th and Alex Orenstein – Sylvia Moss placed 23rd.
A big win for Michael Rosenberg in the Open Pairs I. Other high finishers were: Martin Fleisher,
2nd; Bruce Rogoff, 5th, Zia Mahmood, 6th, John
Rengstroff, 17th and Christal Henner-Welland, 25th.
In the Silver Ribbon Pairs, Barbara Haberman placed 10th
and Linda Gordon 24th.
Barbara Haberman, placing 6th in the Mixed
Pairs. Also finishing high was Jim
Krekorian, 9th.
Zia Mahmood – Richard Schwartz placed 6th in
the Open Pairs II. Other high finishers
were Chris Willenken – Glenn Milgrim, 9th.
In the Women’s Pairs Debbie Rosenberg placed 12th,
Margie Gwozdzinsky, 13th, Leslie Paryzer, 14th, Valerie
Westheimer – Judi Radin, 15th, Laurie Vogel – Gail Greenberg, 22nd
and Claire Torney, 25th.
The Red Ribbon Pairs was held at the Spring NABC for the
fist time. High finishers were Leslie
Powell, 6th and Yefim Shoykhet – Sallie Sears, 23rd.
Another big
win for Nick Nickell in the premiere Vanderbilt KO teams. Nick is a Nyer but is not a District 24
member. Martin Fleisher placed 2nd,
Winthrop Allegaert – Jaggy Shivdasani placed 3/4, Jimmy Cayne – Robert Levin,
5/8, Roy Welland – Bjorn Fallenius, 5/8, Joe Grue – Michael Moss – Brad Moss –
John Kranyak, 5/8, Richard Schwartz – Larry Cohen – David Berkowitz – Zia
Mahmood – Michael Rosenberg, 9/16, Christal Henner-Welland, 9/16 and Glenn
Milgrim – Michael Polowan – Chris Willenken, 9/16.
A big win for Christal Henner-Welland in the Open Swiss
Teams. John Kranyak placed 3rd,
Robert Levin, 4th, Joe Grue – Michael Moss, 5th, Richard
Schwartz – Michael Rosenberg – David Berkowitz – Larry Cohen – Zia Mahmood, 8th,
Barry Rigal, 10th, Brian Glubok, 11th, Andy Stark, 14th,
Janet Colchamiro – Mel Colchamiro, 16/17, Mark Feldman, 21/24 and George
Torney, 21/24.
Valerie Wethiemer – Judi Radin were on the winning
Women’s Swiss, Sylvia Moss – Leslie Paryzer – Linda Gordon placed 3rd,
Svetlana Gromenkova, 4th, Debbie Rosenberg, 6th, Dorothy
Truscott, 7th, Lisa Berkowitz – Susan Wexler, 9th and
Claire Torney, 10th.
The
top 200 District 24 masterpoint winners at the Philadelphia spring NABC.
Board of Directors Meeting
This was my first Board
meeting as president. The business
before the Board is set one month before the meeting. The actual Agenda, including committee meetings, Board meetings,
committee assignments, and special discussions, is set by the president. This year I planned on three-day Board
meetings rather than the traditional four-day meetings. This saves approximately $27,000 for the
three meetings. This Board meeting
finished in 2 ½ days.
World Junior Individual
Bridge Championship
The Board approved a World
Junior Individual Championship to be held every other year, starting in 2004,
in North America at the site of the summer NABC. The first championship will be held July 14-16 at our NYC 2004
summer NABC.
ACBL Masterpoints to be
awarded in 1st Open European Championship, June 2004
The formula for awarding
ACBL masterpoints for each event held at the European Open Championships was
established. The championships will be
held in Menton, France, June 14-28.
Masterpoints Earned in WBF
Events
The formula for awarding
ACBL masterpoints for events held at the WBF Championships was established.
Appeals Casebook Guide
Approval was given to create
a manual for appeals guidelines.
Reconsideration Policy
The current regulation
requires a 2/3 approval to reconsider a motion at the same meeting or the
following meeting. A proposal to change
the regulation to require a simple majority for reconsideration was defeated.
Hard Copy Distribution of
Materials for Volunteers
Volunteer officials who need
copies of various ACBL Rules and Regulations will be notified that they may
request one hard copy of the necessary documents, free of charge, once a
year. Documents can always be obtained
by electronic file.
Eligibility to Play in NABC+
Events
In order to participate in
an NABC+ event, a person must be an ACBL member whose service fee or dues is
current. This only applies to NABC+
events. For Regional events a $2 charge
is added onto the entry fee for these members.
Financial Snapshot
An excess of $740,000 in
revenue was achieved in 2002. The ACBL
has assets of $7.5 million. In 2003 we
approved a $300,000 deficit on a $9 million budget. There will be no increases in tournament sanction fees or
membership dues.
2003 Bermuda Bowl and Venice
Cup
The World Championships,
including the Transnational Teams, will be held in Monte Carlo the first two
weeks of November.
2004 World Computer-Bridge
Championship
I will be running the ACBL’s
world computer-bridge championships in Menton, France, as part of the 1st
Open European Championships. http://www.ny-bridge.com/allevy/Montreal/indexMenton.html
Presidential Activities
My year as president will be
a full year of travel, planning, and organizing. My goals for the year can be found in my January Interview, which
appears in English and French.
Click here to read my comments to the Board of
Governors at their spring meeting.
Click here to see some photos from
the Philly NABC.
My travels will take me to
15 Regionals, 2 Sectionals, the ABA Spring National, the 1st European
Open Championships were I will be conducting the 7th Annual World
Computer-Bridge Championships, the WBF games in Monte Carlo, as well as various
trips to our offices in Memphis.
In my travels I will be addressing
Newcomer/Intermediate groups and presenting bridge books wherever I go. I also will discuss with Unit and District
officials the various ACBL programs that can benefit them.
One current project that I
have undertaken is to write to every Youth (under 20) member with a message and
advice on how to learn the game better.
Included will be a bridge book geared to their playing level. Two books that I will be sending are by
Dorothy Truscott…Bid Better, Play Better, and Winning Declarer Play. In addition, with the help of Randy Baron
and the various software developers, there will be heavy discounts offered for
bridge software.
Congratulations to District
24’s 2003 Goodwill Committee Appointments:
Zia Mahmood
Dorothy Truscott
Chris Willenkin
Margaret Suran
Congratulations to District
24’s 2003 Charity Committee Appointments
Debra Thaw
Carol Mathews