DECEMBER District 4’s WILKES-BARRE REGIONAL FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 6 To be held at the beautiful Woodlands Inn & Resort See www.district4.info or thewoodlandsresort.com DISTRICT 4 WEBSITE http://web2.acbl.org/hosted/districts/d4web/index.htm Unit Websites 112 - acblunit112.org 120 - nepab.com 121 - unit121bridge.com -lvbabridge.org 141 - philadelphiabridge.info 168 - http://web2.acbl.org/hosted/units/unit168/index.htm 190 - unit190.org .217 unit217.nepab.com PRESIDENT RICK ROWLAND [email protected] 1ST VICE PRESIDENT WALTER MITCHELL 2ND VICE PRESIDENT TOM WEIK SECRETARY EDITOR BILL BAUER Elaine Landow TREASURER 2556 Morris Road RICK ROWLAND Lansdale, PA 19446 DISTRICT DIRECTOR 215-699-6134 CRAIG ROBINSON e-mail: 215-699-6134 [email protected] [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the editor. 2 District 4Spot PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE RICK ROWLAND What a performance by our District 4 play- ers in the World Bridge Series!! Congratula- tions to Eric Greco (gold medal in Open Teams), Bobby Levin (gold medal in Open Pairs), Connie Goldberg (gold medal in Mixed Teams) and JoAnn Sprung (gold medal in Mixed Teams). In addition to the efforts at the table, many thanks go to the vol- unteers who made the concurrent regional a success. Over the past two years, District 4 has been adversely af- fected by a drop in attendance at its regional tourna- ments. Historically, these tournaments provided the funding for other district expenses, most notably the funding of the 4Spot, expenses for players attending Grand National Teams and North American Pairs and other board expenses. During the next year, I want to facilitate a dialogue among the vari- ous regional chairs to allow for the exchange of concepts that can be considered for implementation across District 4. To- ward that end, I’m requesting recommendations or construc- tive criticism from our members. You can send your com- ments via e-mail to [email protected] or mail your comments to 1021 Oriente Avenue, Wilmington, DE 19807. Please provide your name and address in the event that follow-up is needed. Bridge is the most entertaining and intelligent card game the wit of man has so far devised.” December 2010 3 DISTRICT DIRECTOR’S REPORT CRAIG ROBINSON On-line bridge is a relatively recent innovation. It has grown exponentially through the middle of the first decade of this century and only now is beginning to level off. Is on-line bridge good for bridge? Does it hurt club play? Should master- points won on-line be merged with masterpoints won at clubs and tournaments? Many believe that any bridge is good for bridge. Similar to any publicity is good publicity. Will the ability to play on-line take players from the clubs? Clearly, with our aging population, playing on-line takes less energy than going to a club and it is clearly more conven- ient. But as one of our aging members told me, “if it weren’t for bridge, I would have no reason to get up in the morning”. Is this a two way street? On-line bridge is popular for partners who don’t live near each other to practice for tournament play. But there is little evidence that people start playing on the internet and then graduate to duplicate games. So does on-line play hurt club play? The number of tables at club games has not decreased during the last decade. There are about 2.2 million tables playing at clubs during the year. Annual growth at clubs is usually between 0 and 1% annually. The real issue with on-line games has to do with the masterpoints won. Because one can play in many games in a single day it is possi- ble to accumulate large amount of points. Should these points be allowed to count towards rank advancement? The current policy of the ACBL allows 1/3 of on-line points to count towards rank advance- ment (I.e. one is allowed to earn 100 of 300 points needed to be a Life Master to be won on-line). However, all points won on-line count towards stratification/bracket assignment at tournaments. Many feel this is unfair and it is difficult to argue this issue. The ACBL has established on-line masterpoint races which seems like a fair way to handle this. Some on both sides of the issue would like on-line points only to count in these on-line races. But some want the on- line points to have value since you are paying to play and the on-line (Continued on page 31) 4 District 4Spot From The Four Corners 217 141 120 168 133 190 112 121 CENTRAL NEW YORK 112 I am not so sure that every Walt Gable ACBL member player is actually 315-568-2538 committed to a zero tolerance [email protected] policy. I have sadly encountered some recent happenings at club Who Is Responsible to Promote games that have prompted me Zero Tolerance? to have these doubts. When I What I am going to say in this expressed my concerns to a first column is likely to generate some -time partner after a “blow-up” controversy. Nevertheless, it between two other partners, needs to be said from my per- with the game director appar- spective. ently having done nothing for I was playing some duplicate this happening, I said I simply bridge at nearby tournaments could not play there again at long before the “zero tolerance” that club game on that day. My policy was implemented by the doubts about commitment to ACBL. I can remember particu- zero tolerance became even larly—certainly not fondly—one greater when some regular play- Saturday evening open pairs ers in that club game com- event in which one large man mented that if anything were repeatedly was blowing smoke done to one of the “blow-up” from his cigarette onto me while players that it would cause a I was supposed to be “enjoying” serious loss of players at that my opportunity to play duplicate club game and other club games with a person whom I seldom got in which that person played. My the opportunity to have as a response to one such comment partner. That unpleasant mem- was that it would only take one ory was what helped me to wel- clear punishment for a violation come the ACBL’s implementation of zero tolerance and everyone of its restrictions on smoking and would get the message—a zero later its zero tolerance policy. tolerance policy means zero tol- December 2010 5 erance for misbehavior on the Kingston. Everyone is invited. part of every player. How about a 73+% game top- Unless every game player is ping a 65% game at a non-life going to support—and even de- master’s event? Jack Burns re- mand—full adherence to a zero ports that Martha O’Connor & tolerance policy, we are going to Peggy O’Keefe posted the big continue to have many people number, with Mike Dudek and driven away from certain dupli- Barbara Green close behind. cate games, if not all duplicate Gladys Santee notes a 75% games—at the club and tourna- game tallied by Joan Benedict ment level. It is not just the and Ann Goetz and a 72.5% game game director’s responsibility or from Santee and Santara Khanna. commitment that is needed to Major Milestones: Robbie ensure zero tolerance. It is every Silverblatt and Susan Solomon player’s responsibility. are now Life Masters! New Jun- . ior Master: Tom Ferguson; New Sectional Masters: Carolyn NORTHEASTERN PA 120 Kaufer, Mary Morrissey & Rich- Walter Mitchell ard Walsh; New Regional Mas- 570-709-0850 ters: Vi Kelly, Doris Mauer, Stella [email protected] Schub and Craig Smith; NABC The beautiful fall colors in Master: Jill Fragin. Northeastern PA have brought Unit 120 players grabbing gold out some sparkling results in our &/ or red points at the Lancaster local clubs. Beth “Bridgelady” Regional included: Mary Brezin- Rosenthal reports, three > 70% ski, Lois DeGennaro, Ray Depew, games: Lois DeGenaro & Sue Klu- Norm Dressler, Tom Henson, Ged ger, 74%; Helen McCool / Walter Manzi, Jim and Tom Olcese, Les- Brenholts, 72%; And Sally Har- lie Sloan, Craig & Karin Smith. ris / Pat Rosenthal, 70%. Make plans now to attend our At her team appreciation Regional Feb. 28th – March 6th at game October 27th, Beth noted the fashionable full service that everyone who played got Woodlands Resort in Wilkes “gold dust”. Barre. When not capturing gold / A Holiday Party hosted by the red points, you might try your Bridgelady and Wilkes Barre luck at the nearby Mohegan Sun clubs is scheduled for Sunday, Casino. December 19th @Kazimi’s in . 6 District 4Spot BERKS MONTGOMERY 121 to Dick Yiengst for achieving Sue Wessner Bronze Life Master, Eva Spitale 610-972-5327 who is now an NABC Master, [email protected] Betty Hamilton became Sec- tional Master and Patricia We held our Fall Sectional Sep- Coates, who is now a Junior tember 17 through September 19 Master. Great Job!! at the Greth Homes Building, 253 Happy Hollidays To All. Snyder Road, Reading, Pa. 19605. What a wonderful attendance we . had! Louise Remley, our Tourna- ment Coordinator, along with her LEHIGH VALLEY 133 team of dedicated board mem- Dave Kresge bers, did a marvelous job. Deepak 215-536-8839 Khanna was the masterpoint winner. [email protected] Please mark your calendars for The Unit will hold its annual our Winter Sectional with morning in memoriam charity pairs game and afternoon games on Saturday, at the Senior Citizen Center on Feb.