June 2016 - 35

After years of
shuttling between
rented locations, the
Flathead Valley
DBC built a home
of its own.

The new facility boasts comfortable
chairs, colorful felt-covered tables with
clip-on beverage holders, side tables
and a modern kitchen. The walls are
adorned with reproductions of paint-

NAP qualifiers coming
to your local club

ings from notable artists that illustrate
card playing throughout history.
The club's educational plans also
came to fruition, and ongoing classes
are yielding new members.

A winner at 100

By Judy Scott | Beach Cities Bridge Club

Bill Baxter, who recently turned
100, has been playing bridge for over
90 years. Growing up in Brooklyn, Bill
played regularly with his family. After
graduating from Harvard in banking,
he would play regularly on the Long
Island Railroad while commuting, until career moves took him to Cape Cod
and the Virgin Islands.
During World War II he served in the
U.S. Navy as a gunnery officer. Although his card-playing was limited to
pinochle with the captain, the war took
him to South Africa, Italy, France and
Russia. On one run, he was told that if
the ship were ever hit by enemy fire,
he would need a parachute more than
a life jacket - their cargo was ammunition!
Upon retirement in Florida in the
'70s, he finally had the time to enjoy
the duplicate bridge world, playing in
Punta Gorda, Venice and area tournaments. His winning ways have continued since moving to Southern California 10 years ago with his wife, Jean. He
developed a strong partnership with
Marge Enders, and in 2013, they won

Bill Baxter

Wednesday afternoon games of two
successive STaCs, with 171 and 164
tables in play throughout Districts 22
and 23. In April, after his 100th birthday, Bill and Marge scored a 72.67%
win in a club championship in Redondo Beach. He is expected to become a
Ruby Life Master this month.
His can-do attitude extends beyond
the bridge table. While undergoing
kidney dialysis, he schedules treatments around his Wednesday and
Friday bridge games. Thanks to the
dialysis, he says, "I almost feel as if I'm
80 again!"
◾

Extra masterpoints and an
opportunity to play in an NABC
event await players who participate in the North American Pairs
qualifying games at their local
clubs. Qualifying games start
in June and continue through
August. There are three flights: A
- open to anyone; B - for players
with fewer than 2500 masterpoints; C - for non-Life Masters
with fewer than 500 points.
NAP-qualifying club games
award half red and half black
masterpoints for most participants. Pairs who score 50% or
better qualify for the next round.
Check with your unit or district
to determine whether your next
qualifing game is at the unit or
district level. Each of ACBL's
25 districts will be represented
in the national contest. The top
three pairs in Flight A and the top
four pairs in Flights B and C in
the district finals are eligible to
play in the national final.
The ACBL provides subsidies
for first and second places among
the qualifiers to the national
event, which will take place at
the 2017 Spring NABC in Kansas
City. The first-place pair in the
final qualifying event will earn
$700 per player in each flight.
The subsidy for the second-place
pair in each flight is $300 per
player. There is no subsidy for
the third-place pair. Depending
on high participation at the club
level, pairs in two districts may
receive enhanced subsidies for
Flights B and C.
The NAP is one of two grassroots qualifying events on the
ACBL calendar, the other being
the Grand National Teams.

June 2016 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2016