September 2022 - 19

The Social Networker
Linda Tuff is ABTA Teacher of the Year
B
ridge is a social game. Social
connections are usually what
get people into bridge, and
they're usually what keep them involved.
Linda Tuff's career as a bridge
teacher and player is a testament to
this.
When Tuff was graduating from
Acadia University in 1978, a college
friend realized they would be going
in different directions. " She said, 'I'm
signing us up for bridge lessons - that
way we'll keep in touch,' " Tuff explained.
It worked. Forty-four years
later, they're still friends and see each
other at the bridge club at least once
a week, and sometimes even still play
together.
While bridge was the glue that held
their friendship together through
adulthood, for clubs it works in
reverse: Friendship is the glue that
holds clubs together.
Tuff began teaching bridge in 1995
and took over as manager of Halifax
Bridge World in Nova Scotia in 2003.
" We do it out of love of the game, " Tuff
said. " You build a community out of
the club you're in. "
Perhaps the greatest measure of
success of a bridge teacher is the
ability to grow that community. From
2003 to 2019, Halifax Bridge World's
table count increased by 93%.
In recognition of her many years
of success, Tuff has been named the
American Bridge Teachers' Association
Teacher of the Year.
Star teacher and ABTA selection
committee member Barbara Seagram
describes Tuff as " a caring, compassionate
person who loves the game.
She runs an outstanding club. "
It's not surprising that Tuff's career
was in education. She was a substitute
teacher at the elementary and middle
school levels. Constantly shuffling
from school to school, seeing a different
batch of students every day, never
for long enough to see the fruits of
That ability has served her well as a
bridge teacher and club manager. She
knows everyone who plays bridge in
Halifax and much of the surrounding
region. And the devotion Tuff inspires
in her students is so great they turned
in 33 pages of nominating letters,
anchored by a 12-page letter from
Patricia Morrison.
" I attribute the strength of my foundation
and ongoing captivation to the
game to Linda and her amazing classroom
techniques, " Morrison wrote.
Learning bridge is difficult, and
it often takes more than one sitting
through the beginner class for basic
concepts to sink in. Tuff's program
your labor, sounds like a great way to
drain all the rewards out of teaching.
Not for Tuff. " It was a blast, " she
said. " It was a nice variety. "
The key to her success as a substitute
teacher was the ability to learn
names quickly. It might be a year
before she saw the same students
again, but she would see them eventually.
And when she did, she knew their
names. That gave her instant credibility.
The connections that regular
teachers took weeks to develop, Tuff
was able to form within minutes.
By Chip Dombrowski
encourages students to repeat classes,
allowing them to take a course the
second time for half price and a third
time for free. Morrison took every
class Tuff offered from 2000 to 2004.
Encouraging repeating classes as
standard practice was an effective
technique, Tuff said.
" It was surprising to see who would
come back. Very smart people would
take it again because they were detail-oriented
and wanted more time
to process it. It protected people who
were struggling because they would
see people they thought were better
than them also coming back. "
When Tuff took over Halifax Bridge
World in 2003, the club offered five
games a week. By 2019 that had
increased to 11 with the addition of
various levels of limited games, plus a
few monthly games. During that time,
yearly tables nearly doubled from
2572 to 4965. Former club president
Eric Balkam submitted a supporting
nomination letter.
" What a difference Linda's teaching
program and leadership has meant to
the success of our club! " he wrote. " I
have witnessed a wonderful evolution
in the club's membership, growing our
base to new levels of participation. At
a time when many clubs are seeing
participation declining, Halifax
Bridge World is booming. I attribute
much of this success to Linda's hard
work, dedication, teaching program
and club management. "
Halifax was not immune to the
effects of the pandemic, and activity
has declined from the 2019 peak.
They're back down to five games a
week, three open and two 0-500 in
lieu of the series of stepping-stone
games previously offered.
But Tuff is working to change that,
returning to in-person classes in May
after two years of teaching online.
Even without recruiting, there was
September 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
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September 2022

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