March 2021 - 7

IN Box

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Online fan
As an intermediate player, I have
always found reviewing the hand
records to be educational after a game.
Playing online has taken this opportunity to such a level that I will be loathe
to give it up when we are able to gather
again. Not only do we now have hand
records, but we have a record of our
bidding sequences, as well as those
of everyone else. We no longer have
to remember how the play went on a
particular hand, to see where we could
have led or played differently; we can
step through each deal, card by card.
Of course, there are also the benefits
of no longer leading out of turn,
revoking or making insufficient bids.
And there isn't the opportunity for
unauthorized information that occurs
at the table when partner forgets to
Alert or incorrectly Alerts a bid. It
would be great if we could marry the
best of both worlds, and play in person
on our devices. No more need for dirty
cards, bidding boxes, scoring devices
or dealing machines. No more wasting
paper printing hand records. Now that
we've seen what is technologically
feasible, it's going to difficult to return
to bridge as it was " before. "
MAGGIE SYMINGTON
Rochester NY

Bridge in the future
I am 85 years old, and for the first
couple of months of the pandemic, I
refused to play online.
Subsequently, I became bored,
changed my mind and accepted reality. I now play pretty much every day,
sometimes twice a day with a variety
of friends and partners from the club.
Thank you, ACBL and Bridge Base
Online, for making it possible.
So I have a question: When this
is " over " and we go back to playing
face-to-face, what happens then? I

strongly suggest that systems should
be built that will combine virtual and
live play. In other words, allow events
that enable members to play virtually
alongside those who attend in person.
I know it is technically possible, even
though it would require some modifications to our current ways of setting
up games.
I, for one, would expect to attend
in person to enjoy being with my
friends at the clubs, but I would also
enjoy being able to participate online
without needing to travel. I'm sure
I'm not the only person with these
thoughts.
TOM ROBERG
Raleigh NC

Suggestions
As an ACBL member and an intermediate player with few masterpoints
but one who really likes to play
the game, I have a few suggestions
regarding membership in response to
Executive Director Jones's message in
the December issue.
Keeping members
* Offer one-, two- and three-year
memberships instead of just one
and three years. I don't want to
commit to a three-year membership,
but I did previously and would again
commit to a two-year term. The
membership fee is very reasonable.
* Provide more help finding partners.
Many of my age-peers stopped
playing bridge for various reasons,
and it was almost impossible to
find partners through the partnership coordinators at tournaments
and local clubs. Also, I found the
Partnership Desk on the ACBL
website cumbersome to use. Now
with so many people playing online,
it's been easier finding partners,
but not always at the same level of
experience. An important goal for
the ACBL and its clubs should be

improving their Partnership Desk
programs, particularly online.
Recruiting new members
The many initiatives to recruit young
people - high school and college ages
- appear to be successful. I suggest
starting programs that are just as
aggressive to recruit middle-age
people in the their 40s and 50s. Most
people in that age group are working
and have money to spend on new
hobbies and interests. One way to
recruit them is to reach out to nearby
employers with offers to have club
members come to their offices for
lunchtime or after-work introductions and mini-lessons.
CLARE MURPHY
Kensington MD

Live play now? No thanks
I am very disappointed to see an
article in the most recent Bridge
Bulletin about clubs returning to live
play. It is completely inappropriate
for the ACBL to imply that it is safe
for people to congregate indoors in
the middle of a pandemic no matter
what precautions the club is taking.
The ACBL has done an excellent job
adapting to online play in this time.
Let's focus on that.
JEFF FORD

Redmond WA

I read the article in the Bridge Bulletin
about holding live games and was very
dismayed. With COVID-19 skyrocketing everywhere, I think it is a very
dangerous thing to do.
I have been a director of my own
club for 38 years. I would not even
consider opening until the vaccination has been given to everyone and
proven to work.
No matter how many safety precautions the club puts in place, you can't
social distance. Also, many people

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March 2021 | Bridge Bulletin | 7
March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2021
