July 2020 - 62

See You
Next Year!
Research team seeks bridge
players' experiences
In these extraordinary times, the
Bridge: A Mind Sport for All research
team at the University of Stirling (led
by Prof. Samantha Punch) is looking for
volunteers to document their experiences of bridge during the pandemic.
If you are a player, teacher, tournament director, manager/owner of a
bridge club, bridge club committee
member and/or part of a national or
regional bridge organization, the researchers are interested in your views.
Participants can choose to submit
either a one-off account of the ways
COVID-19 has changed their participation and engagement with bridge;
weekly journal entries documenting the
changes; or a series of accounts during
and after lockdown.
Your account can (but does not have
to) cover the following:
⦁

Challenges and problems that
have arisen due to COVID-19
and your engagement with bridge
(and if applicable, how you have
addressed these or might address
them).

⦁

Positive opportunities and changes
that have occurred due to
COVID-19 and your engagement
with bridge.

⦁

Changes over time, from early
social-distancing to peak lockdown
through to post-lockdown and
which lockdown changes might be
incorporated longer-term.

⦁

Anything else that you think is
important due to COVID-19 and
your bridge life.

Anyone interested in participating
should read the guidance notes available at keepbridgealive.bridgecloud.com.
Send your diary entries to
bamsa@stir.ac.uk.

62 Bridge Bulletin July 2020

Tournaments across ACBL
set sights on 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the
cancellation of hundreds of tournaments
across the ACBL in 2020. Organizers for
sectionals and regionals scheduled for later
this year are taking a wait-and-see approach
to determine if their events will still be held
(including the Fall NABC in Tampa), but all
face-to-face contests for the spring and early
summer of 2020 have been postponed or axed
completely with the hopes of hosting at similar
times on the calendar in 2021.
Among the larger regionals that have decided
to wait until 2021 to host their tournaments
are Penticton BC, Seaside OR and Gatlinburg
TN.
Penticton Tournament Chair Marv Norden
said, "We look forward to seeing everyone next
year, June 14-21. Penticton is held annually in
a gorgeous area, and is located in one of the top
wine regions in the world. Come visit us."
District 20 Tournament Manager Jim
Wheeler said, "It was with much disappointment that I had to cancel the 2020 Oregon
Coast Regional due to COVID-19. We hope,
however, that everyone will plan to attend our
D20 regional in Seaside, Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, 2021. You can expect wonderful hospitality, great bridge and all while at the beach."
Gatlinburg has been the top regional in the ACBL for many years. Tournament
Chairs Julia and Pete Misslin said, "Now that the Gatlinburg time slot has come
and gone for 2020, it is worth reflecting on what we all missed. First off, we had
established a marketing agreement between the Columbus NABC in March
and Gatlinburg in April, thanks in large part to the cooperative spirit of District
11 Director A.J. Stephani, Columbus NABC Chair Cheryl Schneider and ACBL
Meeting Planner Mark Hudson. With the cancellation of both tournaments, we
can only speculate on the effectiveness of this initiative.
"Once the decision to cancel Gatlinburg was made in mid-March, it was extremely encouraging to receive many supportive emails from players across the
country expressing their disappointment. In some cases, these emails were from
players who had attended the Gatlinburg Regional for more than 20 years, while
others came from players for whom it would have been their first time to visit us.
All of the communications were most welcome.
"As you can see from the photo, the city is ready to entertain all the bridge players we expect next April 19-25. We are hopeful that Gatlinburg will be in your
bridge plans in 2021 and want everyone to stay safe during and after the current
crisis."
Players are encouraged to keep of their favorite local tournaments on their
calendars for 2021.

http://keepbridgealive.bridgecloud.com

July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2020