October 2014 - 8

Letters to the Editor
Palm Springs Unit 533 and volunteer
- you won't regret it. Best of all, just
sit down with your children or your
grandchildren and take out a deck of
cards. They will love it, and you will be
making a meaningful contribution to
the future of the ACBL.
See you at the 2015 Youth NABC in
Chicago!
NANCY ERICKSON
2014 Youth NABC Chair
Indio CA

Welcoming club

Vacationing on Old Cape Cod and
enjoying the sand dunes, salty air and
all the quaint villages, I still missed my
favorite pastime - bridge!
Using the ACBL website, I found a
game in West Barnstable, just down
one of the winding roads. I contacted
Bernadine Lacy at the Upper Cape
Bridge Club, asked her to please find a
partner for me at the Wednesday afternoon game and gave her my number of
masterpoints.
Bernadine went out of her way to
find a suitable partner who was simply
a pleasure to play with and who was
gracious in introducing me to all the
North-South players so I would feel
welcome!
If you spend an afternoon or evening
playing bridge and then watch the
moonlight on Cape Cod Bay, you will
surely fall in love with bridge, as well as
Old Cape Cod!
JEANNE E. MARTIN
Worcester MA

Consider more levels

I have a friend who has made an
interesting suggestion regarding
masterpoint levels. There's such a large
gap between Silver Life Master (1000
masterpoints) and Gold Life Master
(2500 MPs) that some players of advanced age consider Gold unachievable
and lose interest in tournaments. How

8 Bridge Bulletin October 2014

about something along the lines of the
gold standard? Perhaps:
14-karat gold (1400 MPs)
18-karat gold (1800 MPs)
24-karat gold (2400 MPs)
The more easily attainable goals
would keep the interest going. Perhaps
the idea is worth some consideration.
CLAIRE GARDNER
Newport NH

Sense of humor

My husband and I attended the
Summer NABC in Las Vegas and had a
great time. It was made even better by
the directors, one in particular. There
was an occasion when my RHO opened
1♥ and I overcalled 2NT.
Partner calmly said, "15-18," and I
nearly fainted, an obvious and inappropriate reaction, complete with
sound effects. The director was called,
situation explained and the director (I
wish I knew his name) addressed the
issue of my reaction by saying quietly,
"Sounds reasonable to me."
We all broke up laughing, the tension
was eased and the director went on to
explain the appropriate remedy. The
entire episode was priceless.
Great job by everyone involved with
the tournament.
LIZ BURRELL
La Habra Heights CA

Bidding space

I was amused by the bidding sequence Pass-Pass-Pass-Pass; Dbl
in your Newcomer Help Desk article
(July, page 48). You related that the
director's ruling was, "Play it there."
It reminded me of a social game I
was in where the dealer opened with a
double. His partner responded that he
couldn't do that, to which he replied,
"Why not? I can support any suit you
bid."
FRANKLIN MANGE
St. Louis MO

Having fun

We were fortunate enough to attend
two regional tournaments recently:
Bermuda and the Sarasota-Manatee
Regional in Palmetto FL. Both
tournaments should be on your list to
attend.
The tournament in Bermuda should
be on your bucket list because of the
island, the ambiance and the incredible
hospitality. It's expensive, but the hotel
and the island are worth it.
We were drawn to the Florida tournament on the west coast of the state
because of game start times: 10 a.m.
and 2:30 p.m. Yes, there were evening
events, but the knockouts and Gold
Rush events were in the daytime at
those hours. Kudos to all the hardworking volunteers and ACBL directors of both tournaments.
JOHN RANDALL
Atenas, Costa Rica

No early riser

I see more and more letters from
players who prefer early starts to
tournament games, so this is offered to
provide some balance.
I am a senior and a confirmed nocturnal. I have no objection to games
starting early as long as no one expects
me to take part. The fast-disappearing
midnight Swiss is great. Games that
start in the middle of the night - i.e.,
10 a.m. - leave me cold.
PAUL PRECHNER
Toronto ON
From Editor Brent Manley:
A reference to the Canadian Bridge
Hall of Fame in an article published
in the Daily Bulletin at the Summer
NABC in Las Vegas upset some of our
Canadian members. I regret that I
neglected to make a small change that
would have prevented the distress.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2014