San Mateo Unit 498                 September  2024 

What a bridge-filled summer we had at Unit 498!

We hosted our first and only Sectional this year on August 3rd and 4th at the Palo Alto Bridge Center, drawing 107 tables over two days, including 28 Junior players. Many thanks to Carol Lashman for her exceptional planning and organization. Under the tutelage of Bob Gleason, she ran a tournament enjoyed by many from our Unit and beyond.

Proud parents of the Unit 498 August Sectional

Saturday morning's Art Weinstein Trophy game for players with fewer than 100 master points was especially popular.  Our Unit’s own Bebe Pierce and Kathy Zmay came away with the trophy  — Congratulations!

Proud winners of the 2024 Weinstein Trophy

Our next Sectional is a friendly Non-Life Master Sectional at the Villa on Saturday, September 28th.  It's a great way to play competitive bridge with players at your level and earn Silver masterpoints. At 10am, two sessions are offered: 0-200 or 0-750 master points. At 2:30pm, all players with 0-750 master points will compete together.

Please register in advance at https://unit498.com/events since space is limited.  You do not need a partner to sign up.

If you do need help finding a partner,  Contact rita.armstrong300@gmail.com.

Unit 498 Games

Our August 17th Unit Game drew a nice crowd to the Villa, with 6.5 tables in the Open Division and five tables in the 499ers.  In the Open game, Genie and Jeff Reynolds finished first at 65%, Sue Papilion and Janelle Van Rensselaer were second, and Bob Gleason and Kit Morse were third.  The 499er game had a tie for the top spot overall and N/S — Barbara Lewis and Marilynne Bachli and Michael and Joseph Hoagland all scored 57% for the top spot, with Rita Armstrong and Janice Carter placing third N/S.  E/W saw another close game, with Kristine and Thomas Birge scoring 56% to edge out Steven Weisbart and Lina Reznik at 55%.

Please join our remaining Saturday Unit Games at the Villa, on September 7, October 12, November 9, and December 14.

Every week, our Club games at the Villa are open to everyone.  Raad Bunni hosts games on Tuesdays and Fridays at noon and Jennifer Kuhn hosts a Wednesday evening game at 6:30.

Five tables of Mentors and Mentees played in our August game, with Kit Morse and Fran Gonek coming out on top with a 68% game.  Second place went to Jennifer Kuhn and Julie Navid, with Fred Chasalow and Janice O’Brien snagging third.  

We have two more online Mentor/Mentee Games on the schedule for 2024 — September 26th and October 24th at 6:30 pm on BBO.  Please contact Lauren Rosen at lrosen498@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to join the game as a Mentor or Mentee.

The Longest Day Wrap-up

The end of August marked the end of our most successful Longest Day fundraising event ever.  Our team raised close to $40,000 to contribute to the battle against Alzheimer’s Disease.  Thank you all for your generosity and support of the cause.  

The Longest Day efforts encompassed many fun, educational, and community building events.  We played with our Pros, hosted in home bridge parties, enjoyed a gorgeous suite at a Giants game, and offered raffle prizes to all who attended our Unit games.  Friends and family outside our bridge circles, including the entire Millbrae Racquet Club, contributed mightily to our goal.  

Debbie Carey and Kit Morse hosted bridge friends
in support of our Longest Day fundraising

   Growing the game

Planet Bridge is a donation-based online program that teaches the principles of bridge to new players. Founded by Deborah Drysdale, member of San Francisco Unit 506 and Amaresh Deshpande, who lives in India, Planet Bridge offers a 24-week spiral curriculum that welcomes new adult players three times a year. It has a new cycle of lessons starting in on September 3.

Please talk up Planet Bridge to your friends who are Bridge curious. Help us to introduce them to the game we all love.

• No prior experience necessary

• Make new friends or bring a friend and learn together

• All US time zones can join

• Rusty players welcomed too

• New cycle starts Tuesday September 3rd at 4pm Pacific/ 7pm Eastern

Planet Bridge is donation-based, asking students to donate monthly. To find out more information please check out their website, www.planet-bridge.org, or email them at connect@planet-bridge.org

Another great resource for newer players is the ACBL Clubhouse on BBO, where you can play bridge with others at your level and have a chance to win black masterpoints.

That’s because ACBL Clubhouse games are limited games, with a maximum allowed number of masterpoints for a player to have. (Think 0-20, 0-199, etc.)

How is the ACBL Clubhouse different from what’s already out there? Until now, there have not been many chances to play in a limited game that also awarded full black points. But now? You can do it every single day!  

Starting September 2, the popular “Nite Game” 199er games will be hosted daily at 6:30 p.m. Pacific in a new “spot” on Bridge Base Online.  Getting to the games is easy! Just visit the ACBL Clubhouse on BBO (you may need to log in) and then scroll to your desired game.

(When navigating in BBO, look for ACBL Clubhouse in the Featured Areas, right beneath ACBL World.)

If you have a partner, great! But there IS a partnership desk for each game if you don’t.

Please visit our Unit 498 website, https://www.unit498.com/, for more news on new members, rank advancements, results and schedules for our Unit and Club Games and more.

The 2024 Board of Directors