RABA NEWSLETTER

March 2008

The Swiss Pairs Event at the Green Lantern was a great success, due mainly to the large number of 299’ers who turned out to support RABA while many players were out of town. Congratulations to Ralph Hartman, Mary Jo Hazelden, Gerry Ride, and Joan Shulman for winning first place in the 299’er section. Margie Spence has graciously offered to donate a plaque to permanently honor the winners of the 299’er Swiss Team Event and this team will be the first to have their names engraved as winners. They will always be the first! Thanks and congratulations to Sue Barocas and Annette Barnard for all their mighty efforts to involve the newer players to keep duplicate bridge thriving in the Rochester area.

Congratulations are also due to the winners of the Open Swiss Team: John D’Errico, Gary DeWitt, Sally Hill, and Lois Sanders. Thanks to everyone who supported this RABA event.

The Sarasota Regional was heavily represented by RABA members. John Volpel and Mary Gerner were sensational in the Friday Open Pairs, winning first in A for a whopping 25.7 points! Claire Miles and Judy Wade won their Knockouts on Thursday night/Friday night – congratulations to them on earning so much gold. The rest of the Rochester contingent did well also, including Nannette Bordenstein, Marilyn Goldman, Dick Wilson, Carol VanDerVoorn, Joe Sargent, Sue Powell, Lynn Ackerman, Dolores Toohey, Barb Hanna, Kathy Landon, Bob Cannizzaro, Elaine Davin, Bill Helferich, Carol Helferich, John Green, Marlene Green, John Benzoni, Jim Bridges, and Michele Griffin. If we missed mentioning anyone, our apologies.

Sunshine Representative - Yvonne Limbeck has graciously volunteered to be the Sunshine Representative and has sent cards to Annette Barnard, Cheryl Holcomb, John Duffy, Ron Kraftschek, Vee Minard, Betty Ann Schmitz, and Sue Gaffney. She should also have sent one to herself after taking a tumble while volunteering at Hospice. Betty Ann has had her right hip replaced and is home from the hospital and rehab. We look forward to having her back at the games. Annette Barnard won’t be back for a while and our best wishes are with her for a speedy return to bridge. Cheryl Holcomb is also missed at the games. She took a bad fall that resulted in a broken knee and back injuries. She is getting around with a walker at home and is beginning rehab soon.

Name tags or address labels - If you’re interested in purchasing a name tag or address labels with your ACBL number on them, there is a website from which you can order them. Go to www.sevennotrump.com and take a look at the bridge products the company offers. Name tags are a great way to get to know the rest of the bridge community, both during play and before and after the games. The ACBL address labels are very convenient for tournament entries and at $5.00 per 150, very affordable.

The Greece Game is gone - a note from Annette explains why:

Thank you all so much for your cards, messages and concern during my recent health sabbatical. Recent discussions with my doctors reflect that like good old Humpty Dumpty, there are several different but related problems. I am one of the original multi-taskers who now has to de-task!! So, reluctantly, the Wednesday game on Lawson Street is done. If you've lent me tables, etc., please call me to arrange to get them back. 

Thank you all for your support and commitment to our game. You've been wonderful. Special thanks to Sandy Stockton, who has more energy than the energizer bunny! The game has been a labor of love for me. I've really enjoyed it and I hope you have also. Thanks and God bless.

                            Annette, “The Directoress” 

Bridge is a Timed Event - Ed Reppert has contributed the following article to the RABA Newsletter. It is a good explanation of procedure and also good advice to new players. Longtime players can use this as a reminder to keep the game going in a timely fashion.

So I play a bit slowly. What's the problem?

The problem is that bridge is a timed event. Let me say that again:

BRIDGE IS A TIMED EVENT!

The ACBL guideline (and it's a guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule - the actual time allowed is at the club's discretion which means the director in most cases) is that you should get 7 1/2 minutes per board at pairs. That means two board rounds are 15 minutes, and three board rounds are 22 1/2 minutes. A session of twenty four boards should then be completed in about three hours. You may have noticed they usually take longer. Also, sometime or another you may have had a board "taken away" by a director trying to get the game back on track. You can help avoid that, and help ensure that the game is completed on time. How? Change your habits.

Humans are creatures of habit. We all form them, throughout our lives. Of course, there are good habits and bad habits. Unfortunately, it turns out that the bad ones are much easier to form, and very hard to change.

"Slow play" in bridge is primarily a matter of habits - invariably bad habits. What are some of these?

1. Wandering off to the kitchen to get a snack when you were late finishing the previous round - this makes you late arriving at your new table.

2. Staying in the kitchen after the round has been called.

3. Post-mortems on boards you've just played when you still have boards to play this round. Save your post-mortems for the end of the round, if there's time, or better yet, go have a coffee and discuss the hands after the session.

4. Taking more than a quick glance at the traveler.

5. Not thinking about how you're going to play (or defend) a hand at the first trick. Remember the six Ps: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

6. Recording the contract in your private score or on the pickup slip before making the opening lead or putting down dummy. Lead or put down dummy first.

7. Leaving the table unnecessarily before the round is called (this is actually illegal).

8. Failing to pass boards when the round is called (this is North's responsibility). Note that you should not pass boards until the round is called.

9. Not being seated five minutes before game time.

10. Not claiming when you know you have the rest of the tricks. Remember to make a complete statement of your line of play - don't leave something out because "it's obvious".

11. Not conceding when you know you aren't getting any more tricks. This one's harder, but it'll come, in time.

12. Lengthy discussion of an opponent's claim that you can't see. Just call the director. (Note: "Play it out" is not an option at duplicate).

You know, at one time or another, even very recently, I've been guilty of every one of these (except the last one) myself - and so have most players. So please don't feel you are being singled out.) On the other hand, if you're thinking "oh, I never do those things," you probably ought to take a close look and be sure you're right before you dismiss the whole thing.

If you work on changing these habits, your play will speed up, your enjoyment (and your opponents’) will increase, and eventually it will help your game improve. And besides that, the director won't be taking away boards or talking to you about your "slow play."

Service Animals - Annette Barnard found the following in a Dear Abby column and suggests we use it to remind our players how to behave around assistance dogs, such as Ramses, whom you may have seen at our games.

1. Always speak to the person first; do no make distracting noises to the dog.

2. Do not touch the service dog without the handler’s permission.

3. Never offer food to the dog.

4. Do not ask questions about the person’s disability or intrude on his privacy.

5. Do not make negative comments about the dog.

Service/Therapy/Rescue canines are a valuable part of our community. The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that people with assistance dogs have access to public places and businesses. Please be kind.

Send suggestions for future newsletters to RABA President Michele Griffin (shegriff@rochester.rr.com or 585-586-5026).

Late news: Suzy Hill passed the Directors Course