DISTRICT
24 Newsletter Alvin Levy 2002.2
With the Mini Spingold, Red Ribbon Pairs, Senior Swiss, Women’s KOs, and a full complement of NABC+ Open events, there were great bridge events for everyone. Besides the NABC+ and Regional events there was the usual nightly entertainment as well as all the D.C. sights to see. Add fine restaurants to fit everyone’s purse and you get a summer NABC was a wonderful bridge experience. For another great bridge experience come to the fall NABC in Phoenix.
Attendance was 10% below expectations at 14,650 tables. Even though over 6600 players attended the NABC it appears that many other players cut down on their travel. Hopefully the fall NABC in Phoenix will be well attended. Phoenix in the fall will be a delight. For information on what’s planned for Phoenix, see the website at www.acbl.org/nabc/phoenix02/phoenix.htm
The
Hall of Fame induction banquet took place on the first full day of the NABC,
July 18. This year’s inductees were
Carol and Tommy Sanders, joint winners of the von Zedtwitz award and Ira Corn
Jr., winner of the Blackwood award.
Also inducted were Paul Soloway and Hugh Ross. Three deceased persons were added to the Hall, New Yorker Sam
Frey, Jr., Emma Jean Hawes and Hermine Baron.
Our Championship Flight Grand National Team of Glenn Milgim – Chris Willenken – Jared Lillenstien – Aaron Silverstein – Winthrop Allegart – Fred Chang placed 5/8th.
In the six-session Life Master Pairs Robert Levin placed 7th, Jim Krekorian – John Rengstorff, 13th, David Berkowitz – Larry Cohen, 14th, and Brian Glubok, 18th.
Placing high in the Red Ribbon Pairs (0-2000 mps) were Katie and Gino Scalamandre, 9th, and Gennifer Binder – Evan Markowitz, 14th.
Second in the Wager Women’s KO Teams was Jill Levin – Susan Picus. Also placing high were Judi Radin – Valerie Westheimer, 3/4th, Debbie Rosenberg, 3/4th, and Dorothy Truscott, 5/8th.
High finishers in the IMP Pairs were Chris Willenken – Michael Polowan, 6th, Robert Stayman, 9th, John Rengstroff, 14th, and Brian Glubok, 16th.
Second in the Fast Pairs was Chris Willenken. Also finishing high were Glenn Robbins, 11th, Charles Coon, 15th, Christal Henner-Welland – Jim Rosenbloom, 19th.
In the Senior Swiss Keith Garber – Ruth Stober placed 6th.
The summer NABC premiere team event, the Spingold, had its usual large number of District 24 top finishers. Mike Moss was 2nd, Jimmy Cayne 3/4th, Richard Schwartz – Cohen – Berkowitz – Zia Mahmood – Michael Rosenberg, 5/8th, Mel and Janet Colchamiro, 9/16th, and Allen Kahn – David Rosenberg, 9/16th.
Placing high in the new Mini Spingold I (0-5000 mps) were Robert Gordon – Peter Bisgeirer – Simon Erlich – Jeffrey Rothstein, 5/8th.
In the Mini-Spingold II (0-1500 mps) Roberto Verthelyl – Alan Hayman placed 5/8th.
A big win in the Mixed Board-A-Match Teams for the “all District 24 team” of Michael Rosenberg – Debbie Rosenberg – Lisa Berkowitz – Larry Cohen – Richard Schwartz – Margie Gwozdzinsky. Other high finishers were Brian Glubok, 5th, Karen Manfield – Craig Ganzer – Gennifer Binder – Aaron Silverstein, 7th, Judi Radin, 12th, Barry Rigal – Susan Picus – Sylvia Moss – Alex Ornstein, 13/14th, and Jane Dillenberg – Nancy Kalow – Jerry Goldberg, 15th.
Playing on the winning team (now designated USA I) of the U.S. Junior Championships was Lindsay Pearlman, daughter of Glenn Eisenstein, and finishing on the second place team (USA II) was Joe Grue. Both teams will represent the USA next summer in the World Junior Championships.
Interesting Items from the Washington D.C. NABC
In a three-way race I was elected ACBL
president for 2003. I am honored to be
the first District 24 Director elected president of the ACBL since Hall of
Famer Peter Leventritt held that position in 1954.
The Masterpoint Committee revised the
complete masterpoint awards’ schedule.
The new Alert practice of
announcing the high card point range of all one No Trump opening bids was
reviewed and will remain in effect.
The newly established Mini Spingold I and
II had good attendance in its second year, with 63 teams (72 in first year) and
53 teams (36 in first year), respectively.
Starting in January the size of the ACBL
Bridge Bulletin will be changed to 8 ½ x 11, and published on glossy
pages. Every issue will contain the
recipient’s monthly masterpoint history printed in the magazine.
Overall masterpoints will be
awarded in Continent-wide games that use hand records. Also, overall masterpoints will be awarded
in District-wide Charity Games that use hand records.
The Board of Directors voted
that starting in 2004 the Appeals Committee process will be replaced with a
system in which the Director-in-Charge of a tournament has the final say in an
appeal of a Director’s ruling.
However, the Board of Governors voted to have the Board of Directors
reconsider this action. This
reconsideration will take place at the next Board meeting in the fall.
ACBL management will develop an NABC sponsorship package to be
used by local organizations. The newly
formed sponsorship committee, which I chair, will propose developing
sponsorship packages to be used by clubs, Units and Districts.
ACBL World
Computer Bridge Championship
The sixth annual world computer bridge championship will be held in Montreal as part of the World Bridge Federation’s world bridge championships. I am the originator and coordinator of this event. Last year, a new computer bridge program from the Netherlands, JACK, won the championship in convincing style, see http://www.ny-bridge.com/allevy/Montreal for details and some pictures of last year’s championship.
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. Check your club or ACBL online for a
schedule of events.