 | If these numbers are confirmed correct as reported (and not just a change in accounting method), this might be the first month in five years (January, 2020) that the league has stemmed the tide. (Hey, an annualized increase in players at the rate of 54 new players per year across all of the ACBL isn't going to be too noticeable, but at least there's a positive sign involved, and that's a start.) |
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Speaking of which, David Collins [Fridley] held on to keep the lead in masterpoints through today's Swiss Teams, and he's the 2024 Holiday Tournament Champion. This is the first time Dave has made the list - very likely not the last. Congratulations to him and to everyone who had a good time this week. | 
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Heading into the Sunday Swiss teams, Dave Collins [Fridley] has moved up the masterpoint list to the #1 spot - for now. We will see who gets to add their name to the Holiday Tournament Champions list tomorrow afternoon. |
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Between December 16 and December 22, your local club can participate in Stardust Week, where you'll be earning 25% gold points without having to make it to a Regional or NABC tournament. (This does not happen too often, so don't miss out.) Not all games next week are automatically enrolled in the ACBL's Stardust Week event; your club manager must sign up for them. . .so check with your club manager (or one of your club directors) and see to it that they join in on the fun. |  |
 | And this year, through the first two days of the Bridge Center of St Paul's Holiday Tournament, tables are not quite "through the roof", but that may not be too far away. Overall, tables compared to last year are up +7.6% through the first two days; Thursday was up +8.5% and Friday up +6.7%. The only weak spot in turnout is the 499er crowd, where Thursday's 499er tables were off -41.7% compared to last year, and Friday's 499er tables off -17.1%. Turnout is terrific! Can surge pricing be far behind? |
You can bring a donation to the tournament in Roseville this weekend, or you can also make a donation to this foundation by clicking here. |  |
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October, November, and December are tough months for these qualifying games; between the holidays and special games in October, clubs generally run fewer GNT team games during this period. Historically, that has changed heading into the new year, and chances are very good you'll see more of these team games on the calendar. You can always ensure that they get there by prodding your local club manager (and/or directors) to put them on the schedule! (Clubs that don't listen to players don't stay clubs for too long, IYKWIM.) The updated list of all Minnesota qualifiers - and the flights for which they have qualified - is to your right. Click on the image to open it in a new browser and check it out. NOTE that when you qualify to play in the D14 GNT Finals, you qualify for your flight - and every stronger flight above you. . .but you can't "play down". So you may have quaified to play in several flights (but you can only pick one). | 
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| Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] played in the bracketed teams today, tying another team for 1st place in their bracket - also winning their bracket today was Jeffrey Walker [Eagan] and Lou Tesler [Eden Prairie] for another 11.16 gold points - not bad for a day at the office. Two more days to go at the NABC. |
| There are still about a dozen Minnesota players who are sticking with the NABC through the second weekend - and then they'll be back to the cold (and warmth of the upcoming Holiday Tournament!). |
 Holiday Tournament, Bridge Center of St Paul Coming up is the four-day holiday celebration that is the Holiday Tournament in Roseville's BCSP location. Their charity this year is once again Every Meal, donate by clicking here. The Rochester DBC will have their holiday game and brunch on Monday, December 9th. Their charity this year is Family Promise, and you can make a donation by clicking here. The Woodbury Bridge Club also is having its annual holiday get-together on Monday December 9th. More info on that party can be found here.
There are a few potlucks at the Bridge Center of St Paul's Roseville location this month - which will also be an opportunity to party hard (and play hard!). Thursday, December 19th, Monday, December 23rd, and Tuesday, December 31st are all potluck celebrations of the holidays and upcoming new year.
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| The final two sessions of the Super Senior Pairs took place today, and Tom Grue [Apple Valley] along with his partner from Las Vegas won the opening session with a 63.10% game. This was enough to propel them into 4th place overall heading into the final session - finishing 17th out of 56 pairs for 10.91 platinum points. Mike Flader [Eagan] and Joel Kramer [Minneapolis] earned 8.89 platinum points in the same event, and Sue Jackson [St Paul] and Stephen Jackson [St Paul] won 7.73 platinum points. Today's Gold Rush saw Karl Hansen [St Paul] and his partner from New Jersey with a nice 63.13% game in the opening session which was good for 2nd place out of 92 pairs! Then - lunch happened - and the afternoon wasn't quite as fun. (We've all been there.) Karl still got 1.53 gold points today - well done! More Minnesotans are showing up out in Nevada, and those 32 players now getting masterpoints are listed to your left. Best of luck to everyone tomorrow. |
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Here is hoping everyone at the tournament has a good time - and gets some masterpoints. |
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A couple of Minnesota college alums Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] and Cecilia Ehrlichman [Northfield] are working their way through the Soloway Knockout Teams. They played four matches today, losing their first three (-2 IMPs, -24, -11) but roaring back to win their 4th (+28 IMPs) and come in 68th out of 103 teams today. Here's a look at the scratch these players (and more!) are getting after a couple of days in the desert. UPDATE: Sure enough, a couple of score corrections came in and bumped Keith Connolly from 130th to 132nd place - and out of tomorrow's competition. He, along with Tom Grue [Apple Valley] and Gregg Van Dyke [Key Largo FL] will be entering something new tomorrow. |
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All of this would not have been possible without your donations and the matching funds from Units 103 and 178 ($2,500 and $500, respectively). Most recently, Unit 178 has offered our club the use of some chairs they currently have in storage. Again, many thanks to both Minnesota bridge units. We will leave the Appeal open through our December Sectional tournament ending December 15, 2024. Any additional monies we receive will go toward the purchase of some additional needs including new portable cooling unit(s) for our future tournaments, replacement boards, new cards, and Bridge supplies to make the game better. We asked for your help…..you responded generously! Many, many thanks to all of you. We go forward with a healthy financial outlook for 2025. Sincerely, Board of Directors Bridge Center of Saint Paul |
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Monday, John played with Barb Zipoy and recorded a terrific 76.70% game. They had 7 top boards out of 24; Barb's last 70% game was about a year and a half ago on June 16, 2023 (when she paired up with Mary Sass [Apple Valley]), so this was also a great result for Barb! John's other big games this month took place on a couple of Wednesday mornings, with his regular partner Joe Koester [Brooklyn Park] - a 77.84% game on the 13th along with a 70.74% game one week before in the Royal STaC. You may recall that Barb and John were the big Minnesota winners in the Royal STaC week this month - here they teamed up as a partnership to score this stellar 76.70% game Monday. Congratulations to both of you! |
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Second is a motion to give full overall awards to all players on a team who play 50% of the boards in a one-day team event. The current ACBL policy is that you get a percentage of overall awards based on how much you play - recognizing that there are rewards for multi-day events. (They are very different from a one-day event.) Arguments on both sides of this issue are expected to be spirited. |
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John Edmundson [Maplewood] is teaching a "Beginning Bridge – Bridge Basics" class on Monday evenings from 6:30p to 8:30p. This in-person-only class starts on January 6th and goes through February 24th.
♣ Course Fee is $70 for all 8 classes - no refunds after the third week of classes. ♣ Register online at: www.bridgecenterofstpaul.com ♣ The course book is $13, available at the club (Kim can arrange for you to pick up). ♣ Taught by: John Edmundson. For more information email: edmundson.john@gmail.com
♦ Each class includes approximately a 1 hour lesson and 1 hour of play. ♦ The course book is available at the club (Kim can arrange for you to pickup) or online from Baron Barclay. ♦ Course Fee is $70 for all 8 classes - no refunds after the third week of classes. ♦ Taught by: Larry Huiras. For more information email: bcofstp@gmail.com |
