Almost an eternity ago in late 2019, we announced the Woodbridge sectionals were at risk, with the very last Woodbridge sectional held in March 2020. Our neighbors in the New Jersey Bridge League had long used the Hungarian American Citizens Club for sectional tournaments, and along with Allendale, these sectionals were a crucial source of silver points for New York players.
Tournament Flyer with All Relevant Info:
New Jersey Bridge League Edison Sectional August 19 to 21, 2022
Good news, Unit 140 is back with their summer sectional, this time hosted at the Edison Elks Club in Edison, NJ.
New Venue Notes
Good news, Unit 140 is back with their summer sectional, this time hosted at the Edison Elks Club in Edison, NJ. It is still driving distance from NYC and Long Island, with some parking provided. They will have free coffee and tea, with sodas and bottled water on sale for $1. Due to Covid restrictions, there will be no food or snacks provided, proof of vaccination required.
One Woodbridge staple seems to be gone, which is the “backroom” $1 pizza slices and $1 salads. The upgraded swiss teams lunch buffet is also no go. It’s ok, safety first!
New Playing Schedule
On the docket is a new 10am and 3pm style pairs schedule, with a slightly longer lunch break than the pre-pandemic 10am / 2:30pm schedule. The Sunday swiss begins at 10am sharp now, instead of the prior 10:30am start. I once nearly delayed our car pool thinking the Saturday pairs game also started at 10:30 — fortunately the Holland and Lincoln tunnels are very empty on Saturday mornings.
GrassRoots Afternoons on Fri and Sat
One tradition they are keeping: the afternoon sessions on Friday and Saturday are designated as Grassroots events. That means they pay 27.27% more masterpoints with no additional cost to the players. The bonus applies to both the open and 499er game.
New Symmetrical Morning and Afternoon Stratifications
Another major change for the Friday and Saturday schedule: the morning and afternoon pairs sessions are exactly identical. In previous years, the morning section had an Open and 299er section, while the afternoon had an open section (A/X), a mid-flight section (B/C/D), and a section for intermediate and newcomer players (299er). Now, both morning and afternoon will be Open and 0-500.
To be honest, I didn’t mind the old schedule, because in practice in forced mid-flight players to play-up in the morning, then decide in the afternoon if they wanted to continue playing up or slide back down to the B/C/D. However, it caused some confusion and partnership disagreements. It also meant that players in the 250-750 range felt extra intimidated in the morning. So we welcome the symmetry!
Six Round Swiss on Sunday
The swiss on Sunday is only 36 boards, consisting of six rounds of 6 boards. That is an interesting departure from 7 times 7, but it seems their director in charge has approved the change. One nice benefit is the NYC crowd will likely be home in time well before dinner, as opposed to the prior 7pm and beyond after accounting for tunnel traffic.
New 20% Bonus
This is one of the first nearby sectionals to receive the new 20% bonus in overall awards for face-to-face tournaments. The bonus applies to the event-wide overall awards of each stratum, but not to the section awards in the event there are multiple sections. It also applies to the overall awards in the swiss, but not to match awards.
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