Kudos to Kent Mignocchi and Joel Wooldridge who won the prestigious Kay Platinum Pairs Tournament at the 2024 NABC in Louisville. While Joel and Kent are no strangers to winning bridge tournaments, this Platinum Pairs event is considered the premier pairs event for the year and players from all over the world come to compete so it is a strong competitive field of players. It was an important win for the men and just the latest way Joel and Kent have demonstrated excellence in duplicate bridge competition. We congratulate them on this important win!!
In general, bridge players compete for Master Points awarded by ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) but it may interest many bridge players to note that this Platinum Pairs Tournament is not considered a ‘Master Point race’ by these elite players. Joel indicated that, while it isn’t about the points, it does contribute to one category that he cares about and that is “Player of the Year” which is based on how many times a player has done well in National Tournaments in the US that year and how the points have accumulated.
Both Joel and Kent began learning bridge as children and participated in the Juniors Program, sponsored by ACBL. In 1990 Joel, at age 11, became the youngest person to reach the level of Life Master. This record has since been broken but it remains a remarkable achievement. It was in the Juniors Program that Joel and Kent met while representing the United States in international tournaments. ACBL sponsored their travel and supplied them with a coach. As an adult, Joel has served as a mentor in that program.
Joel said that bridge has benefited him in a number of ways – 1) it was a bonding experience with his parents and people his own age, 2) it improved his ability to think logically and to make judgements, 3) it gave him a reason to travel the world, 4) it opened his mind to new ways of thinking, 5) it gave him discipline, 6) it provided him with a passion for something that started as a game and became a career because he is good at both playing and teaching. He plays all the time but continues to love it because, as he says, “it is just that interesting and it can’t exactly be mastered and there is something to be learned from it no matter how long you have played. It is a great game and more people should be playing.”
Clearly, both Joel and Kent have talent. They were also given excellent guidance and opportunity from a very young age so they both already have an impressive list of bridge wins and accomplishments. That said, it is likely they have not yet peaked in their careers and we can expect to see much more of them in the future.
Research continues to show multiple health benefits from playing bridge so it may be helpful to expose more people of all ages. Research coordinated by Samantha Punch at BAMSA (Bridge as Mind-Sport) in Scotland has shown benefits for memory and brain health but, these days, given the prevalence of loneliness (CBS reported 80% of young people report feeling lonely) perhaps the most important health benefit may be that playing bridge decreases the sense of loneliness.
ACBL is a charitable organization which is continually working to support and encourage participation in bridge, including young people. They sponsor and partner with groups that help young people learn the game and compete in bridge games. Both ACBL and The World Bridge Federation sponsor tournaments just for young players. ACBL also sponsors both online and in-person bridge camps for juniors, offers scholarships to college-age players, and partners with groups promoting bridge education to young people. One such group, BridgeWhiz, is a free online beginning bridge program for students (and parents) in grades 4 through 12 and an ‘Improver’ series which is open to 4th through 12th graders who know the basics of bridge or are BridgeWhiz graduates. A free, one-year ACBL Junior Membership will be awarded to anyone completing the series. (Www.BridgeWhiz.org)
Coming up – Youth NABC has youth championships July 25-27, 2024 in Toronto and the games are free to ACBL members 20 years of age and younger. (ACBL.org/ynabc)
The World Youth Bridge Teams Championships occur every two years. The JUSBC (Junior US Bridge Championships) is held in December of the year before to select teams to represent the USA. The 2024 JUSBC will be named after Sam Amer, a NY Bridge professional who, according to Bridge Bulletin “was a beloved member of the bridge community and a former member of the USBF Junior Program. He was known for his incredible kindness toward others and his infectious passion for the game.” Teams sign-up will open mid-2024.