Our favourite director, Matt Smith (now retired), was inducted into ACBL’s Hall of Fame in 2020. However, because of Covid, the ceremony was only held recently on November 28, 2022.
Here’s a Youtube video of the event.
Members
Face-to-face bridge survey results
Here are the results from the survey conducted last month.
Don’t forget our face-to-face bridge survey!
We sent out an email to all Unit members on Saturday morning, asking you to take a whole minute (and maybe two, if you’re adding comments) of your time to help us understand why people were’t coming back to the bridge table. Then maybe we could try to do something about it.
So far (Sunday 9 pm), we’ve received only 21 responses from our 456 paid-up Unit 431 ACBL members.
Pretty paltry, right? Surely we can do better!
So, if you care about the future of duplicate bridge in Victoria, please click here and take the one-minute painless survey.
No personal information is collected in the survey and we’re not trying to sell you anything. You have nothing to lose and you’ll feel good about doing your part to maintain duplicate bridge in our area.
If you have any qualms or misgivings, feel free to reach out to our president, Maureen Trappe by emailing her at [email protected].
Thanks!
The Unit 431 Board.
How to find other Victoria players now that clubs are open
All three ACBL-affiliated local clubs have reinstated face-to-face bridge! You can find their schedules here.
You may be looking for a partner to play with. One easy way is to use our online directory, accessible to all registered Victoria players, whether they’re ACBL members or not. In April 2021, I sent all players their personal username and password to allow access. You can also use your email if you have forgotten your username.
First, go to our website, bridgevictoria.ca. Once you’re there, you can reach the directory by clicking on the “Log in” item in the top menu. As soon as you’re logged in, you will be taken to the directory.
If you have forgotten your password, no worries, you can request a new one at this point.
Note that the directory is searchable. Just type a few letters of the person’s first or last name in the directory search box to narrow down your search. It’s a lot easier than scrolling down.
Before you leave, here are a couple of tips you might find useful:
1) Getting the latest news automatically
The website consists of pages and posts. Pages contain relatively permanent information, such as the list of board members, games on BBO, Masterpoint Milestones, etc. They are updated regularly, but unless you go onto them, you won’t know.
This is where posts come in. Posts are short announcements, found under “What’s New”. They will inform you of new developments such as new events or updates to pages. If you don’t want to miss any, you can choose to receive them by email by clicking on the Subscribe button, at the bottom of each page. Currently, over 300 Victoria players are subscribed to this service.
Posts have a publication date, author and other info in the header, as in this example:
Notice the publication date (March 16, 2022), the post author and categories. If you’re logged in, you can add a comment, by clicking on the speech bubble (
) which currently shows two comments for this post.
2) Finding anything on the website
There is a Search box on every page. Just type in a relevant word or short phrase. For example, “Christmas” to look at pictures of past Christmas parties.
3) Your questions and comments
If you have any questions or comments for the board, or need any help using the website, just click on a “Contact Us” button, found on every page. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Victoria team strikes gold in Leavenworth
Leavenworth, Wa successfully reinvented itself as a Bavarian town in the 1960’s after logging petered out and the railroad moved out of town. It was never known as a mining town, yet there’s gold to be found in them thar hills and our four plucky miners struck the mother lode!
Congratulations to Gail Richardson, Danielle Goulet, Jill Plasteras and Madeleine Tremblay for their win in the Edelweiss Knockout which gave them 14.58 gold points. Coupled with another 6.08 in the Alpenhorn KO, and sundry points from other events they collected well over 20 points, all gold. Well done, ladies!
Eddie Crews of Sidney was another successful prospector, garnering 9.86 gold in Gold Rush events.
Remembering departed bridge friends
We are saddened by the recent passing of well-known Victoria player Emrys Evans. He was 92 when he died on Christmas day.
You can find more details including a link to the obituary on our In Memoriam page, in the Members section of our website.
If you wish to add a short tribute, please send it to the webmaster.
Note that entries are sorted in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
Looking for a few good men!
I hope that got your attention. You will recognize it of course as the Marine’s recruiting slogan which they have been using since 1789, but clearly outdated in these more enlightened times.
Unit 431 is actually looking for a few good volunteers, regardless of gender, to fill vacant board positions for 2022. The election will be held at the Annual General Meeting at the end of February. In the meantime, however, our Nominating Committee would like to hear from people interested in giving back a little to the Victoria bridge community.
Becoming a Board member will provide you with an opportunity to bring creative ideas and suggestions forward to improve bridge in our community. The board meets approximately 8 times a year. We will be happy to describe open board positions and explain how you could help the Unit fulfill its role. If it’s not your cup of tea, no worries, we won’t badger you. But we would appreciate the opportunity to talk to you.
All you have to do is to click here. One of the Nominating Committee members* will give you a call back at a time of your choosing.
If you want to see what kind of work is involved, please take a look at our newly updated Board Job Descriptions. You can also consult recent Board Minutes or talk to current Board members.
- Nominating committee members: Holly Boudreau, Maureen Trappe, JP Weber
Face-to-face bridge is back in Victoria!
Two Victoria clubs have now reopened for your live playing enjoyment. Since it’s been a while that we haven’t played together, you might want to review our bridge etiquette tips in the sidebar on the right.
All paid-up members should have received an email from Unit 431 detailing on how both clubs are currently operating, including COVID protocols. The information is reproduced below.
From Roy (Island Bridge Club):
Hello bridge community,
It’s been a tough slog for the world these last two years but I’d like to share a little ray of light from my corner of the world. After much discussion, Broadview United Church has allowed me to continue renting, but at their Arbutus Site on 2625 Arbutus Rd., just a few minutes away from the old St. Aidan’s site. The location is a spacious gym that does have a kitchen so when Health Guidelines allow, coffee and cookies will be back. As of now, I’ll be working hard to keep things safe for the players with masks required the whole session, an initial check for double vaccination, and lots of cleaning before and after each session.
For now, the online games will remain unchanged until people are comfortable transitioning to face to face play. I was open in a limited capacity on October 25 and from now on will run games on Monday, Thursday, and Friday at 12:30 pm ending by around 4 pm. For the week of November 8, customer loyalty cards will be on the house as I know many cards won’t have survived the pandemic and card fees will be $10 a person. For those point hunters, this next week is an Upgraded Club Championship which means extra black points at no extra cost.
There is no need to pre-register as I will have a list of names from the ACBL gamefile for contact tracing purposes so the game will be pure drop-in though you can reserve a N/S if you like by calling or emailing me. I’m excited to be working again and can’t wait for the day when I can see you in person, enjoying the game we all have such a passion for.
Roy and Justine Stefaniec, Owners, Island Bridge Club
From Nicole (Monterey Bridge Club):
The Face to face games at Monterey are Tuesday and Saturday 12:15PM. Please arrive 15 minutes before the game. In the first week of November, there were 7 tables on Tuesday and 6 on Saturday.
We will be alternating between the 2 sets of bidding boxes, 2 boxes of pencils and the many sets of boards to prevent the chance of the spread of the virus.
If you need a partner, please let me know or go to “Find a Partner” on Monterey’s website. Be careful when you require a partner for Saturday. There are 2 games, the Face to Face and the BBO games. You can also sign up for a partner on this page.
Show your proof of double vaccination at the Front Desk.
I would appreciate if you let me know you are coming, who is your partner and if you require a north/south. You can also just show up!
If you live close by and you are available to fill in at the last minute, please email me. I need a list of “spares”.
We will need to adhere to COVID guidelines and the following precautions are in place:
– Players need to show the Monterey Rec Centre Front Desk proof of being double vaccinated.
– Masks are to be worn at all times in the building
– E/W players will carry their sanitized bidding boxes with them to the next table
– There will be hand sanitizers at each table
– Fern Cafe is open so there will be a break before 2PM therefore we will play 26 boards
– Players and a partner may pre-register with me, [email protected] but you don’t have to.
Virtual games on BBO will continue to run under the Monterey Club on Thursdays and Saturday at 12:15PM.
Should you have any information you wish to share with Victoria’s bridge community, please click on the “Contact Us” button, found on all pages of the website.
We have winners for our Unit Directory quiz!
As mentioned in a previous post, our Unit member directory is now exclusively online, and with over 700 entries, it’s a great resource to help you communicate with other local players. The directory includes BBO handles, when available.
Our short quiz ran for the last two weeks and was designed to help members familiarize themselves with the directory.
Participation in the quiz was decidedly modest, with only 13 Victoria players submitting entries. The participants mostly did very well with 6 of them obtaining perfect scores. Each receives a free play, valid on BBO. The winners are (in alphabetical order):
- William Birney
- Shelley Burnham
- Ron Grove
- Bob MacDonald
- Esther Wiebe
- Margot Young
Congratulations to our winners and thanks to all who participated.
As a reminder, the directory is private and accessible only by registered Victoria players, all of whom received a personal username and password in April. You can also use your email instead of your username when logging in. If you have forgotten your password (no worries, it happens!), simply request a new one from the login screen. And if you need help, just click on the “Contact Us” button on the right side of every page on the website.
New Bridge Buzz published
The latest Bridge Buzz, Unit 431’s newsletter, is now available on our website.
You’ll find it of course on the Bridge Buzz page, under Members.
And for your convenience, here’s a direct link to said page.
Madeleine Tremblay, BB Editor and our Communications Coordinator, will be happy to receive your feedback at [email protected]
Just like the Olympics!
Masterpoint Milestones have been updated as of September 1.
This month’s awardees include new gold, silver and bronze lifemasters!
We have a new Life Master!
At the beginning of each month, ACBL sends us the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month.
To find out who our new life master is, go to the Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca. You will also see what other players are climbing up the masterpoint ranks.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding Masterpoint Milestones or other aspects of our website, please click on the “Contact Us” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Masterpoint Milestones updated!
At the start of each month, ACBL sends us the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month.
Our updated roster includes a new Bronze Life Master and a new Life Master. For the full picture, go to the Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding Masterpoint Milestones or other aspects of our website, please click on the “Contact Us” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Finding the online directory and other tips
Our website, www.bridgevictoria.ca, is dedicated to providing useful and timely information to Victoria bridge players. Here are four tips to help you make the most use of it.
1) Online directory
The online directory is private and accessible only by registered Victoria players. Last month, I sent all of you a username and password to allow access. You can also use your email in lieu of your username.
Once you’re on the website, you can reach the directory by clicking on the “Log in” item in the top menu. As soon as you’re logged in, you will be taken to the directory.
If you have forgotten your password, you can request a new one.
2) Getting the latest news automatically
The website consists of pages and posts. Pages contain relatively permanent information, such as the list of board members, games on BBO, Masterpoint Milestones, etc. They are updated regularly, but unless you go onto them, you won’t know.
This is where posts come in. Posts are short announcements, found under “What’s New”. They will inform you of new developments such as new events or updates to pages. If you don’t want to miss any, you can choose to receive them by email by clicking on the Subscribe button, at the bottom of each page. Currently, 95 Victoria players have subscribed to this service.
Posts have a publication date, author and other info in the header, as in this example:
Notice the publication date (April 22, 2021), the post author and categories (in blue). If you’re logged in, you can add a comment, by clicking on the speech bubble ( ) which currently shows no (0) comments for this post.
3) Finding anything on the website
There is a Search box on every page. Just type in a relevant word or short phrase. For example, “Christmas” to look at pictures of past Christmas parties.
4) Asking for help
If you need any help using the website, just click on a “Contact Us” button. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Charity game a great success!
We were all saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Matthew (Mutt) Kaiser, Debbie Wastle’s son, on Monday March 29th. The pandemic deprived us of many of our traditional markers of milestones and we have all experienced some degree of isolation. So when Roy Stefaniec proposed a memorial game in Mutt’s honour, it gave us a way to show love and convey support to a valued member of our community and a good friend.
An impressive forty pairs signed up on BBO friday evening, April 9th, divided into two sections of ten virtual tables. Kinga and Burt Voorhees were the overall winners with a remarkable score of 68.08%. Only four pairs found the slam in NT at board 18, a grand way to close this friendly competition…unless, like me, you found yourself helplessly defending against it.
Together, we raised US $400 (CA $500 equivalent) for the Calgary Food Bank, the charity chosen by Debbie and her family. The Calgary Food Bank serves families, individuals and organizations since 1982. In its last fiscal year, it distributed close to 100,000 food hampers. Like most food banks, it relies solely on the support of the community. A very worthy cause indeed.
Special thanks to Roy and Island Bridge Club for providing us with an opportunity to be together in this difficult time.
In Memoriam, Peggy Wright
Gold Life Master Peggy Wright, a long-time Monterey bridge player has passed away at the age of 95. More details, including a link to her obituary can be found on our In Memoriam page.
New masterpoint ranks for February
At the start of each month, we receive from ACBL the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month.
You can find all of the February 2021 honourees on our Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.
And if you have any question or comment, just click on the “Contact Us” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
New masterpoint achievements!
ACBL has just sent us the list of new masterpoint rank holders for December. Heading the tally are Gold Life Master Van Buchanan and Ruby Life Master Ev Goedhart.
Congratulation to both of them as well as to the other December awardees.
Full details can be found on our Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.
Congrats to Jim Brackenbury for 11 years of bridge at Goward House!
Jim has been organizing and teaching duplicate bridge at Goward House for eleven years, now. Today’s TC featured a piece on his accomplishments (it’s in the 55+ Magazine section).
Click on this link to read the article.
Cornucopia of gold, ruby and silver hits Victoria
A veritable cornucopia of gold, ruby and silver hit Victoria this September with a new Gold Life Master, a Ruby LM, two Silver LMs and a newly minted Life Master.
In addition, nine other players attained new Master ranks on their way up to Life Master status.
Find out who they are on our Masterpoint Milestones page. And if they’re friends of yours, why don’t you send them a congratulatory email since you probably won’t be seeing them in person for a while!