September 2021 - 6

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Rust, worry and grace
In late July, the ACBL canceled tournament events in August due to the increase
in COVID cases caused by the Delta mutation. This is disappointing to those who
were looking forward to attending the first live tournaments in 18 months, but the
ACBL remains committed to protecting the health and safety of players and staff.
The decision was the right one, though no one enjoyed
making such a call.
This means that tournaments and some clubs will
return to live play later this fall. As more of these organizations
gear up, the folks who run local dupes and those
who are members of tournament committees must relearn
some of the steps they were so familiar with prior
to COVID. These dedicated volunteers will no doubt feel
a bit rusty as things open back up.
Additionally, club owners, managers and directors,
PAUL LINXWILER
editor@acbl.org
as well as tournament organizers, now have the added
headache of trying to decide which of the safety protocols
they will enforce and the plans for doing so.
In my correspondence with members in these roles,
there is clearly worry about how live bridge will proceed
in the near future. Will players attend events in sufficient numbers to make them
successful? Will there be arguments about masks and vaccines? What's the best
way to balance safety concerns with an enjoyable at-the-table experience?
But there is a sense of excitement and optimism, too, as these expert organizers
- and recent volunteers - bring live bridge back to as many players as possible. The
integration of live and online games has spawned some clever ideas to accommodate
players in whichever way they want to enjoy duplicate bridge.
This period in the history of the game is hectic, one that places a great deal of
stress on everyone involved. So for the short term, at least, here's a suggestion
for players at club games and tournaments: Give the people who make live games
possible in your area plenty of thanks - these jobs were tough even before COVID
- and accept any organizational missteps with as much grace as you can muster as
things get back to normal-ish. And, please, don't argue with organizers who are doing
the best they can to implement health policies that are often confusing because
of their ever-changing nature.
Better yet, find a role where you can help, even if it's a small one. The more players
that participate in club maintenance or tournament planning, the stronger
your local bridge-sponsoring institutions will be.
Correction: In the August editorial, I wrote, " But as new, more contagious variants
of the vaccine emerge ..., " but the word I intended was " virus, " not " vaccine. "
EDITOR
Paul Linxwiler
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Chip Dombrowski
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Amy Casanova
GRAPHIC DESIGN / LAYOUT
Lisa Jackson
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6 | Bridge Bulletin | September 2021
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September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021
