Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed the website looks a bit different. I thought that after two years, a facelift was in order.

The content is unchanged but I’m using a new theme (WordPress uses  “themes” to set the overall appearance of websites) with more readable fonts and a cleaner look. I’ll be tweaking the look further in upcoming weeks. And although I’ve temporarily removed the heading pictures, they should eventually be back.

Feel free to send me your comments (both positive and negative) and suggestions at bridgevictoria.unit431@gmail.com

JP Weber,
Webmaster, Unit 431

Most bridge players are aware that this summer’s NABC is being held in Toronto, July 20-30.

What you might not know is that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home to earn gold or red points. For the first time, ACBL is hosting an NABC Online Individual event that allows you to do just that. It is a four-day, four-session Bridge Base Online (BBO) robot duplicate event running from July 23 to 26. You need to preregister and can do so starting July 9. Full details are found on ACBL by clicking here.

As a bonus, no need to pay extra for drinks as they are provided by you, from your own kitchen. And you can also have as many breaks in the game during the day as you need – just keep the game open on your computer.

I’m a bit curious as to whether Victoria bridge players are interested in this type of event. Would you help me out by replying to the very short, anonymous and confidential survey below?

Your favourite bridge quiz is now online on our Unit website!

You will find it under the Members title in the top menu. Even easier, just click here.

And as a reminder, if you’re looking for last month’s results, look no further : June Results

Congratulations to the winner of the June quiz,  John Miller, who receives a free play courtesy of Bill Wastle, valid at any regular game at Victoria Bridge Centre.

Complete results for June are available in the Members section (under Past Results) or by following this direct link.

The July quiz will be posted on June 24, also under Members, It can be accessed directly by clicking here.

I forgot to include one Victoria pair in my last post on Penticton Regional results. 

Here is the correction, which is also now included in the original post:

A bi-coastal team composed of Terry Foster and Russell Page playing with Allan Callard of Mermaid PE, and Bob Edmundson of  Beaver Bank NS won bracket III of the Wed.-Fri. Pinot Morning Knockout with 7.91 MPs.

The Penticton Regional wrapped up on Sunday with a table count of 3237½, the most since 1990.

A large Victoria contingent came to do battle with some being more successful than others at extracting those elusive gold nuggets.

Below are a few highlights. Complete results can be found in the Penticton Regional Bulletin’s Wrapup Edition. And for daily bulletins and tournament photos go to District 19’s Penticton 2017 Page.

Event Winners:

In the Tue.-Wed. Chardonnay Knockout Teams, Donald Berry (third from left) and his Seattle teammates Thomas Brown, Monty Gray, and Lorenzo Migliorini won bracket IV with 18.19 MPs.

Playing in the same event, Joanna Daam got 12.56 MPs as part of the team which won bracket VI. Her fellow players were Janina Lysek, Packwood WA; Kalvin Garton, Pendleton OR; and William Curtis, Whitehorse YT

In the Wednesday Gold Rush 0-750 Pairs, Al Romanchuk playing with Marian Kosior, Penticton BC came in first with 11.25 MPs.

A bi-coastal team composed of Terry Foster and Russell Page playing with Allan Callard of Mermaid PE, and Bob Edmundson of  Beaver Bank NS won bracket III of the Wed.-Fri. Pinot Morning Knockout with 7.91 MPs.

Al Romanchuk (him again) playing with Okanagan teammates Dennis O Donnell and Marian Kosior of Penticton and Philip Shadick from Summerland received 12.71 for first place in bracket VI of the Shiraz Thurs.-Fri. KO.

The wholly Victorian team of Keith Hibbert, Esther Wiebe, Holly Boudreau, and Jean-Philippe Weber won bracket V in the Fri-Sat Riesling KO for a gain of 11.11 MPs.

Points Leaders

Please advise the webmaster of any error or omission.

Leslie Wood has laboured diligently at publishing our Unit’s newsletter, the Bridge Buzz for the last four+ years, putting out an impressive total of 18 issues. She now hands the baton to Nev Hircock to whom we wish great success in his new role.

The June edition of the Bridge Buzz is now available on our website. Just go to the Bridge Buzz page from the top menu.

Please address any comments or suggestions you might have directly to Nev at hircockn@gmail.com

The Canadian Open, Women and Senior teams will be playing against their Mexican counterparts June 10 & 11 in Mexico City . The winner of each of the three 120-board matches earns the right to compete in their respective event at the World Bridge Teams Championships to be held August 12 – 26 in Lyon, France.

Our very own Rhonda Foster is a member of the Women’s team, competing next week. We wish the team the best of luck in their quest.

And we’ll keep you posted on further developments.

My apologies to Bree Watts for a most unfortunate error which led to her May submission not being compiled. I have rectified the error and Bree is now tied for first place with Russ Page!

Both will receive a free play at Monterey Bridge Club. Complete May results can be found here.

JP

You can find complete results for May in the Members section (look under Past Results). Or follow this direct link.

The winner of the May quiz is Russell Page who receives a free play courtesy of Nicole Dupuis, valid at any regular game at Monterey Bridge Club.

The June quiz is now posted, also under Members, You can access it directly by clicking here.

Given the demographic of bridge players in Victoria (and more generally in North America), it is not wholly unexpected that we regularly lose friends.

Our “In Memoriam” page, found under Members,  chronicles the passing of our bridge friends and includes pictures and links to obituaries whenever available.

We can also add short comments should you wish to honour your departed partner/opponent. Please send them to the webmaster.

During the month of March, Unit 431 acquired nine new members. Another nine players transferred from other ACBL Units. We wish to welcome them all.

New members…

• Nancy Bolli
• Allen Coombs
• Julia Day
• Jim Greening
• David Korican
• Janette Magne
• Teresa Reid
• Lionel Traverse
• Marian Webb

… and transferees from other Units

• Linda Ellis
• Ron Grove
• Cliff Horwood
• Libby Horwood
• Janet McGregor
• Gordon McOrmond
• Jill Stainforth
• Alison Stewart
• David Stewart

The Victoria Spring Sectional starts on Friday of this week (March 31) at 10:00 am.

It is being held at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney.

Join us and get those silver points you’re missing!

Get Flyer for more information.

And we always appreciate your contributions in the form of baked goods or other goodies for the hospitality table (small cash donations are ok too…)

Unit 431 wishes to welcome some recent additions to our membership list

New member…

• Gillian Mouat

… and transferees from other Units

• George Cushon
• Sarah Doughty
• Rhonda Foster
• Bella Lacoste
• Ravi Mehra
• Ken Paterson

We have moved our website to a new server, which should result in improved performance. However, as with all computer upgrades, there is the slight possibility of some thing not working quite as they should.

Should you encounter any problems or unexpected situations, please let me know (click here) and I will endeavour to set things right rapidly.

Thanks,

JP Weber
Unit 431 Webmaster

Unit 431’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017 starting at 12:45 pm. Plan to attend and choose your new Unit Board!

The AGM will be followed by a fun, individual movement duplicate bridge game ($5)

Free pizza, pop, coffee and cookies!

Read all about it here.

Results for February are available in the Members section. Or follow this direct link.

The winner of the February edition was Mike Hargreaves with a score of 440. He merits himself a free play atVictoria Bridge Centre, courtesy of Bill Wastle.

The March quiz is now up, also under Members, You can access it directly by clicking here.

Here’s a message of interest to players and club owners, sent today from ACBL:

The ACBL is pleased to announce that table fees for Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaCs) will be reduced by $1 as of April 1, 2017.

Unit 431 wishes to welcome some recent additions to our membership list

New members…

• Jo Albinati
• Jim Bouthillier
• Catherine Mustafa
• Gail Simpson

… and transferees from other Units

• Linda Bonder
• Rita Cushon
• Ernst Kramer