ACBL Unit 431, District 19, Victoria BC
ACBL has just upped it’s (bridge?) game with Bridge Wrapped 2025. As a member in good standing, you will have received an email from them, detailing your yearly statistics. Personally, I found them very interesting and well presented.
Also note that the “MyACBL” page on ACBL’s website has received a makeover. You’ll find it much more useful than in the past. Read Bridge Bulletin’s editor (Paul Linxwiler) column on page 6 of the January issue for more details, or just try it out for yourself.
ACBL released the Awards for the 2025 MiniMckenney, Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs, and Virtual Ace of Clubs races today (Jan6, 2026).
Go to our Unit Races page for complete details for Unit 431 (Victoria and the Gulf Islands) players. You’ll find it in the Members section of our website.
Or, you can just click on this direct link if you prefer. Rankings from previous years (2021-2024) are also available.
Recently, several members requested help in accessing our directory. Other members might be in the same situation so if you’re unsure of how to do it, please read on!
As a reminder, phone numbers and emails of most Victoria players are found in our online directory, whether or not they are current ACBL members. To ensure privacy, only Victoria players can consult the directory. This means you will need to log in once you’ve opened the website, bridgevictoria.ca as shown in the illustration below. 
In April 2021, all Victoria players received a username and password allowing them to log in. They can also log in with their email and the same password. The online directory replaces the former paper booklet (last version was in 2019).
If you’ve forgotten your password (it happens!) just click on the Log In button. Then click on “Forgot your password?” at the bottom of the login panel to get a new one.
If you’re not yet in the directory and would like to be, look for “Register for directory” under Members, or click here for direct access.
For more detailed instructions on accessing the directory, including registering, correcting your info, changing your password, etc, please go to the Directory Instructions page.
Bridge Canada is the Canadian Bridge Federation’s official magazine, published 4 times a year, in digital format. It features articles written by Canadian bridge players for players of all levels, analysis and commentary from experts at the Great Canadian Bidding Contest, and information on bridge events.
From Neil Kimelman, Bridge Canada Managing Editor:
Bridge Canada magazine is now available to everyone. If you are not a CBF member, we invite you to join the CBF to contribute to the continued production of the magazine and to the various activities of the CBF. You can join by clicking the “Members/Join the CBF” on the top menu, or the tab on the left side of the home page, and fill up the form. Membership is only $25 per year or $65 for 3 years.
There was a good turnout of Victoria players at the Whistler Regional last week. Daily Bulletins and stats can be found on McBruce’s tournament website.
A total of 349 attendees won masterpoints. Here are the 22 from Victoria:
| Name | MPs |
|---|---|
| Michael Hargreaves | 78.15 |
| Joanna Heard | 30.1 |
| JP Weber | 30.1 |
| Holly Boudreau | 26.69 |
| Margaret Skinner | 26.69 |
| Ernie Tradewell | 21.12 |
| Michael Ainsley | 19.85 |
| Andrea Killackey | 19.49 |
| Mel Zimmerman | 17.51 |
| Jill Plasteras | 17.38 |
| Madeleine Tremblay | 17.38 |
| Barbara Thompson | 10.24 |
| Eleanor Gibson | 4.46 |
| David Reid | 4.46 |
| Ted Heck | 3.4 |
| John Keech | 3.4 |
| Jonathan Mears | 1.2 |
| Lucy Mears | 1.2 |
| Marnie Hueston | 1.02 |
| Christie Ulmer | 1.02 |
| Rene Weir | 0.94 |
| Vic Wood | 0.94 |
The document below has 3 pages. Click on the arrows to change pages.
Bill Wastle retirement news (1)Sadly, two of our members passed away recently.
You will find links to their obituaries on our In Memoriam page.
Congratulations to local hero Gordon McOrmond of Sidney!
He came in first with 135.22 gold MPs in the Penticton Regional, beating well-known players including Iftikhar Baqai, Mitch Dunitz, Dan Jacobs and Mark Itabashi.
For detailed information on the tournament, go to McBruce’s Sunday’s Daily Bulletin at mcbruce.ca/25pen/sun.html.
A record number of 19 Unit 431 members attained new masterpoint ranks in May, ranging from Junior Master to Gold Life Master.
You can find out who they are by going to the Masterpoint Milestones page on our website, bridgevictoria.ca. Look for it under “Members”.
Then, when you see them at a club or tournament, you can offer them your congratulations!
The Victoria Regional starts Monday April 7th and runs until the following Sunday.
It’s a great opportunity for local players to score some gold points without having to leave the island. And it’s a lot of fun too!
If you have questions about anything regarding the tournament, you will likely find them answered on our tournament website, vicregional.ca.
To save you some time, here are the direct links to the three most frequently asked ones.
If you need more information, please contact me at chair@vicregional.ca. I’ll be happy to help.
JP Weber
Chair, Victoria Regional 2025
On February 21, 2025, Unit 431 held its first face-to-face Annual General Meeting since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. 36 members gathered at the Strawberry Vale & District Community Club for the business meeting and elections, followed by an enjoyable, complimentary individual movement bridge game, and pizza.
2024 new Life Masters were announced, and 2024 Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs certificates were presented to those winners present. All Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney winners can be found here, and the remaining certificates will be distributed when received.
Marsha Ross was announced as the winner of the Dawn Hueston Memorial trophy, for members who start the year with fewer than 20 masterpoints, and earn the most MPs at the four Sectional tournaments.
Farhad Rohani was the winner of the game, and his name will now be added to the list of winners, dating back to 1956.
Many thanks to Bill Wastle for his continued support of Unit bridge functions by facilitating use of the Strawberry Vale space.
Some 30 bridge players showed up in red and white for Flag Day, Saturday February 15. Well done, people!
And, thank you Madeleine for this great initiative.
ACBL Unit 431’s Annual General Meeting will be held starting 12:00 noon, February 21, 2025, at Strawberry Vale Hall, 11 High Street, Victoria.
All paid-up ACBL member in good standing with Unit 431 are invited to attend.
The meeting’s agenda is to review the past year, confirm current board members, and vote in new players taking positions.
If you wish to volunteer as a board member or assist with events held by the board, please contact Ernie Tradewell (president) or Farhad Rohani (vice president).
There will be an individual bridge movement game after the meeting, followed by pizza.
Players participate solo and switch partners each round. Debbie Wastle will organize and direct the game: debwastle@gmail.com.
For ordering purposes (we don’t want to order too many or too few pizzas), please pre-register by emailing Maureen Trappe at maureen.trappe@outlook.com.
Our Unit now boasts a new Ruby Life Master, a new Silver Life Master as well as new Club and Junior Masters.
See them on our Masterpoint Milestones page.
Keep up the good work, Victoria players!
We’re not a young crowd, so although sad, it’s perhaps no surprise that several active players have passed away recently.
You can see their obituaries on our In Memoriam page.
Terry Foster and Heather Erskine, long-term organizers of the monthly Unit Mentor Game are cancelling the game due to low turnout.
Here is the message they sent to their participants:
After going through many game cancellations (due to low game registrations) in the last several months, we have decided to cancel the monthly Unit 431 Mentor Games until further notice. This decision does not affect Mike’s game and he will continue on as normal.
We have enjoyed getting to know and work with you all over the past 8 years and we wish you all the best going forward.
Thanks very much,
Terry and Heather
As they mention, VBC continues its on-line (BBO) mentor game at 12:15 on the fourth Sunday of each month with Mike Ainsley in charge. For more information, contact Mike at meainsley23@gmail.com.
Last month’s Bridge Bulletin featured two smiling Victoria bridge players. Our little contest asked you to name them.
A total of 616 players received the invitation (also posted on our website), with 300 actually opening the email. Of these, 21 accepted the challenge and sent in their answer.
15 gave the correct answer, which can be found on page 25 of the October Bridge Bulletin. The featured players are Jill Plasteras and Madeleine Tremblay, part of the runners-up in the 0-2500 Mini-Spingold KO Teams.
The winner, drawn randomly from the correct results is Jim Brackenbury. He received Augie Boehm’s book, Masterpiece Deals, A Gallery of Beautiful Card Play.
Participants at Thursday’s VBC game were invited to dress up in their Halloween costumes and several took up the challenge.
The ghostly winners for best costume were Margaret Skinner and Nicole Dupuis, who received a dinner gift card from Victoria Pub Company, valid at any of their four pubs, Bard & Banker, Irish Times, Penny Farthing, Vis-a-Vis.
Follow the progress of our Victoria players at the World Bridge Championships by clicking here.
As a reminder, Michael Roche and Daniel Lyder are playing in the Open Team event, while Gord McOrmond and Mike Hargreaves are part of a Senior Team.
Some of the games are being shown on VuGraph for free. You can access the schedule by going onto BBO.
I’m sure most players enjoy the monthly Bridge Bulletin. In fact, I’ve been told that some people who are no longer playing keep up their ACBL membership just for the magazine.
The October issue features something we rarely see – photos of Victoria players. Have a look. Once you’ve found them, click here for a chance to win a bridge-related prize.
There’s also a very funny and relatable article by Susan Morse on surviving a bad slam. And of course, all the usual good stuff.