Annual ACBL Unit 155 Membership Meeting Dec 29th, 2021

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Lee Lin

As everyone knows, 2020 and 2021 were sort of mulligan years for all things bridge. We did not have a GNYBA player of the year, Goldman Pairs, Countess Cup, or any of the other normal New York events. But don’t worry, we are slowly walking the path towards the new normal. Bridge and Games has a live game 7 days a week, and for the first time in over a decade, we have a Winter Sectional that offers team games and awards silver points.

What Is The Annual Meeting? Should We Go?

Yes! The annual meeting will be conveniently held on the same day as the Winter Sectional swiss teams event, shortly after round 4 (official time is 2:30pm ET). This is probably the first live ACBL swiss event that most of us have had a chance to play in almost two years (unless you went to Austin NABC). So come sign up for the Swiss teams and attend the very brief annual meeting for fun. How brief? I’d be shocked if it is longer than 15 minutes.

What Will Be Discussed?

What actually happens? We are approving some changes to the Bylaws to give future boards more flexibility. First, some rules to make running GNYBA more convenient. Future boards no longer need a minimum of 24 board members. We can manage with as few as 12 and as many as 30. Meetings may be held on Zoom and future annual meetings do not have to fall strictly in the calendar year.

We also propose to eliminate term limits. Currently, no one may serve as a board member for more than 7 consecutive years (but can resume after taking a 10 month break). The new proposal eliminates any mention of term limits.

Finally, we are approving the board members and officers for next year. No one is running opposed. In fact, there is room for more, if anyone is interested, you may nominate yourself. You mist collect 50 signatures from GNYBA members in good standing, then submit to a board member at least 10 days prior to the annual meeting (if you go through that much trouble, you have my vote!).

For those who are curious, here are the existing Bylaws.

Notice to the Greater New York Bridge Association Membership

The GNYBA will be holding its annual membership meeting on December 29 between sessions of the sectional at Bridge and Games 177 East 87th Street, Northwest corner of 87th and 3rd Ave, Suite 302A.You can also participate via Zoom; the zoom link and info is at the bottom of this mail.

Due to the special circumstances presented by the pandemic, the board proposed and approved changes to the GNYBA bylaws to provide more flexibility in board meetings and operations. Other changes were made to update and modernize some language. These changes must be ratified by the membership at the annual meeting. A copy of the amended bylaws is attached below.


The annual meeting will also approve the slate of officers and directors nominated by the board. This slate is:


Proposed Slate of Officers

Adam Parrish, President
Lee Lin, Vice President
Katherine Todd, Vice President
Marla Lawson, Tournament Chair
Jeffrey Rothstein, Treasurer
William Sigward, Secretary

Proposed Board of Directors Slate

Jeff Bayone
Alan Davidson (**)
Jin Hu
Marla Lawson (**)
Phil Lentz
Francine Levine
Stephen Levine
Lee Lin
Richard Marchione
Mark Mariaschin
Rachel Moller
Adam Parrish
Melanie Petsch (*)
Amy Rhodes
Andrew Rosenthal
Jeffrey Rothstein
Allison Rudary
William Sigward
Aaron Silverstein
Katherine Todd
Norman Trabulus
Gail Wallach
Jacqlyn Wank
Mee Warren
Abigail Weinshank (**)



(*) Beginning a new 1-year Term
(**) Beginning new 2-year term
Zoom Link and Info:


Topic: GNYBA Annual MeetingTime:
Dec 29, 2021 02:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88460394083?pwd=aTJoQ2tqWDRVTXZGR2p4bUwrR2c2dz09

Meeting ID: 884 6039 4083
Passcode: 435858
One tap mobile
+16468769923,,88460394083# US (New York)
+13126266799,,88460394083# US (Chicago)


Amended Bylaws

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GNYBA Winter Sectional! Dec 27-30th 2021

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Lee Lin

The winter tournament is on! Instead of the usual gold and red points at the Hilton, it will be silver points at Bridge and Games. This is an exciting, somewhat last-minute development, with many thanks to our District Director, Unit President, Tournament Committee, and club owners. It is also the first non-STaC NYC sectional in years.

First off, reservations will be required. You can sign up for the tournament through Bridge Winners. There is one day of Swiss on Dec 29th, and 3 days of pairs. All of the pairs events are single session events, because as we know that pays more. The swiss is a two-session, all day event as we expect from a sectional, sans the commute to Woodbridge.


A December In-Person Sectional!

Monday, December 27 – Thursday, December 30
At Bridge and Games
Bridge and Games is at 177 East 87th Street,
Northwest corner of 87th and 3rd Ave, Suite 302A

Monday, December 27
10:30am Open Pairs
3:00pm Open Pairs
7:00pm Open Pairs (20–21 boards)
7:00pm 99er Pairs (20-21 boards) 

Tuesday, December 28
10:30am Open Pairs
1:00pm 99er Pairs
3:00pm Open Pairs
7:00pm Open Pairs (20–21 boards)
7:00pm 499er Pairs (20-21 boards) 

Wednesday, December 29
10:30am and TBD Bracketed Swiss Teams (two sessions with lunch break)
7:00pm Open Pairs (20–21 boards) 

Thursday, December 30
10:30am Open Pairs
1:00pm 499er Pairs
3:00pm Open Pairs

———————————————————-
As space is limited, pre-registration and prepayment are required and will be accepted on a first-come, first served basis. Last minute walk-ins will be permitted, if space allows.  To register and pay online, in advance, visit us at https://bridgewinners.com/tournament/view/gnyba-winter-sectional/ 

YOU MUST SHOW PROOF OF FULL COVID VACCINATION, NO EXCEPTIONS. Masks optional in accordance with CDC, NYC, and ACBL rules and guidelines regarding limits on positivity rates, which are subject to change.

Entry Fees
Each daytime session: $25 per player
Evening sessions: $20 per player
Teams: $200 per team (for two sessions)

Questions? Contact: Tournament Chair Marla Lawson at 917-951-1676 or marla3notrump@gmail.com   

Stratification
Pair events are stratified by Master Point average

Open Pairs: open/3000/1000
499er Pairs: 500/300/100 (all players <500)
99er Pairs: 100/50/20 (all players <100)   ·        

Wednesday’s Bracketed Teams is open to all.
Teams will be grouped into brackets by average masterpoints.
Each bracket plays a separate Swiss or round-robin competition.     
All events except for Wednesday’s Swiss teams, are single session.

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District 24 NAP Results

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Lee Lin

Apparently, I have a bad habit of posting only the half-time results but not the final results for District grass roots events. Apologies all for the long delay, but official NAP results are in and for the winners, it’s time to make plans for Reno! The top 3 pairs in Flight A, as well as the top 4 pairs in Flights B and C are invited to represent New York and Long Island at the Spring 2022 Nationals in Reno, NV.

Official Event Winners and Alternates

Flight A (Top 3 pairs invited to national finals)

1.) Michael Lipkin and David Gurvich
2.) Leonardo Fruscoloni and Ettore Bianchi
3.) Joel Woodridge and Kent Mignocchi
4.) Bart Cirker and Bill Dinner (Alternate 1)
5.) Radu Nistor and Iulian Rotaru (Alternate 2)

Flight B (Top 4 pairs invited to national finals)

1.) Janie Woo and Michael Schwartz
2.) Richard Morici and Silvana Morici
3.) Alan Davidson and Lee Lin
4.) Susan Calabro and James Knopf
5.) Mee Warren and Monique France (Alternate 1)

Flight C (Top 4 pairs invited to national finals)

1.) Christine Flynn and Deborah Tormey
2.) William Nealon and Maria Lawson
3.) Erica Hennings and Carl Sievert
4.) Irma Hilton and Barbara Schwartz
5.) Joshua Allen and Seth Shepetin (Alternate 1)

A link to the ACBL live D24 NAP event shows a full event recap, sans the GNYBA commentary we all hopefully love.

Please contact Bill Dinner, bdinner@yahoo.com, your District 24 NAP Coordinator with questions.

Awards and Travel Subsidy

As usual with all grass roots events such as GNT and NAP, the District winners in each flight also win lots of gold points. Masterpoints this year were reduced to 80% of the normal award (a 20% reduction), given that our District NAP finals were entirely online.

1st Place in each flight is expected to receive a travel subsidy of $700 per player
2nd Place in each flight is expected to receive a travel subsidy of $300 per player

In Flight A, top pair Michael Lipkin and David Gurvich won 25.60 gold points, a $700 per player travel subsidy for Reno, and a blue ribbon qualifier to play in the Blue Ribbon pairs in any future NABC (usually fall NABC, such as Austin coming up).

In Flight B, limited to players with no more than 2500 masterpoints, top pair Janie Woo and Michael Schwartz won 18.0 gold points, a $700 per player travel subsidy for Reno, and a blue ribbon qualifier to play in either the mini-blue ribbon pairs or the full Blue Ribbon Pairs in any future NABC (usually held in the Fall NABC).

In Flight C, consisting entirely of non life masters with 0-500 masterpoints, first place pair Christine Flynn and Deborah Tormey won 12 masterpoints, half red, half gold, a $700 per player travel subsidy for Reno, and a red ribbon qualifier to play in any future Red Ribbon pairs event (usually held in the summer NABC just after GNT). The red ribbon qualifier must be used before the players exceed 2500 masterpoints.

If any of the top pairs choose not to represent the District in Reno, the next pair from the October 24 event overalls will have the option of going. Unlike GNT, substitutions and augmentations are NOT allowed.

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D24 NAP 2021 Halftime Results

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Lee Lin

After getting off to a slightly delayed start due to technical issues, the first session completed with a total of 40 pairs entered.

Flight A NAP 1st Session Results

Flight B NAP 1st Session Results

Flight C NAP 1st Session Result

Result Highlights

In Flight A, Joel Wooldridge and Kent Mignocchi are in the lead by a full board with a 60.54%. Remember that is the highest flight unlike GNT which has a higher Championship Flight. Amusingly, their BBO handles are “fireitup” and “firechief”, perhaps coordinated from back in 2005 when they both created their BBO accounts. In 2nd place, David Gurvich and Mike Lipkin with a 56.2% score.

Interestingly, the N/S direction saw a much tighter field, with 55.16% taking the top N/S pair spot by Sam and Dan Lev, but only 4th overall. The E/W field saw far greater volatility.

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Confirmed, Dist 24 NAP Registration Open!

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Lee Lin

As discussed yesterday, you and your partner must sign on to BBO and register together for the District 24 NAP game inside the ACBL World section. See screenshot below:

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The STaC and NAP Combo Weekend

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Lee Lin

First of all, the District 24 NAP Finals is tomorrow, online on BBO. How do you join? You and your partner need to log onto BBO prior to 10:30am ET tomorrow, and look for the appropriate game in ACBL World. If we find out more, we’ll post it here tomorrow morning.

Update: Look inside ACBL World, and you can find the three game called “Dist 24 NAP Flight A/B/C”. See screenshot below.

What is a STaC and NAP Combo?

It’s a term I just made up, but it means you play for silver points at our local Bridge and Games club, because all week long was STaC week. Then you follow it up by playing in the District 24 NAP Finals.

For this STaC week, it looks like the open game netted between 11-15 tables each weekday afternoon. That’s certainly less than the pre-Covid days, but a very nice step towards our return to face-to-face bridge.

Plenty of face-to-face tables this week, even on Saturday, for STaC week

As usual, STaC week games pay extra masterpoints, using the same formula as an Upgraded Club Championship. They are silver pigmented points, which saves us from doing the classic trek to Allendale and formerly Woodbridge.

Grand Sunday Reopening Tomorrow

Bridge and Games is also welcoming the return of their Sunday afternoon game. I’m a huge fan of the Sunday afternoon game, as once upon a time it was the very first NYC duplicate game I played. That would been Fall 2017, when former colleague Chris Moh convinced me to return from my 15-year long break from bridge. We started off tucked away into the L-shaped stem of the old Honors 14th floor, where the 0-750 games played. But to get there, we would walk past the massive 30+ table game in the main floor. I didn’t even realize the 12th floor had some bridge going on as well. Those were the days.

Anyway, tomorrow is a key step, as Bridge and Games at East 87th Street and 3rd Avenue returns to an open game every day of the week. The game today had 9 tables, not bad for a Saturday. As usual, come a bit early for an all-you-can eat lunch with tuna salad, cole slaw, egg salad, some deli cold cuts (ham and turkey), coffee, tea, and soda. Once the game begins, they bring out some cookies, cakes, and fruit bowls.

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District 24 North American Pairs Finals: 10/24/2021

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Lee Lin

Flight A, B & C
Sunday, October 24, 2021
10:30 am & TBD (probably 2:30pm)
Online on BBO (Bridgebase)

District 24—which includes New York City and Long Island—will hold a tournament to determine who will represent the district at the spring national tournament, which will be held in March in 2022 at Reno, Nevada. As all the finals will be held on Oct 24 you may play in any ONE of the flights that you are eligible and qualified for. Please find you name in the district qualify list (Link below) to ensure that you qualified in the flight you want to play in.


The cost to play is $30 that includes both sessions. Make sure you have sufficient funds in
your BBO account prior to signing up.

Depending on your masterpoint eligibility (as of June 2021 cycle):

  • Flight A: Open to all players
  • Flight B: Open to players with 0-2500 masterpoints
  • Flight C: Open to Non-Life Masters with fewer than 500 masterpoints.

The top three finishers in Flight A and top four finishers in Flights B & C become eligible to represent District 24 at the spring nationals in Reno.

1st Place in each flight is expected to receive a travel subsidy of $700 per player
2nd Place in each flight is expected to receive a travel subsidy of $300 per player
3rd Place in each flight and 4th place in B & C may compete in the tournament but do not receive a stipend.


Players must be members of Units 155 or 242 (New York City or Long Island) as of June 1 of 2021 and need to have qualified for the NAP at a club or an online game. The Finals are held on Bridgebase and will begin at 10:30am. Please log in at least 15 minutes prior to
game start. The link to the tournament will be found under the ACBL World Tournament section.

If you don’t have a partner, you can look at the list of Distrcit 24 qualifiers.

For questions contact the NAP District Coordinator Bill Dinner at bdinner@yahoo.com

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Last Chance to Qualify for NAP 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Lee Lin

First, mark your calendars for Oct 24th, 2021. District 24 has a sanctioned and approved district final for NAP, all flights (Open, 0-2500, and NLM 0-500).

Club Qualification

To participate in the Oct 24th District finals, you and your partner must be members of District 24 and have each qualified in an NAP club qualifier game. The club qualifiers are special red point games held from June through August, and are required by the ACBL NAP Conditions of Contest. Our District has held dozens of qualifier games both online and live.

Qualify for NAP at 177 East 87th Street

If you have not yet qualified, this week is your last chance. The schedule is on the Bridge and Games website, and also posted here:

North American Pairs Qualifying Games at Bridge and Games, our 87th Street Club

Afternoons:
1:00 pm Wednesday, August 25th through Tuesday, August 31st (no game on Sunday).
24 boards…$25.00 with lunch.
Evening:
6:30 pm Monday, August 30th.
24 boards…$25.00 with pizza. 
Especially for this game…you MUST, MUST make a reservation: RSVP…franschnoll@gmail.com

Qualifying for NAP Online or Anywhere Else

You and your partner may qualify on different dates, with different partners! Qualification is done individually, so even if you and your partner can not play at the same time this week, you can each individually find a time and different set of partners to meet your qualification.

You also do not need to qualify in a New York City club. An individual may qualify in any club in any district, including virtual clubs. You just need to make sure the virtual club is holding an NAP qualifier (All-For-One held them online last week, but this week will prioritize the face-to-face games).

Each virtual club has their own guest policy – you may need to do some research to find eligible games and clubs. Shore Bridge Club and Alliance are two virtual clubs from neighboring New Jersey and Long Island, each holding NAP qualifiers this week (either you or partners you know likely have access).

Per ACBL rules, if you had previously played in those clubs before Covid, you are likely a member of the virtual club. Otherwise, you need to inquire about guest access.

More about NAP National Finals

The NAP is a “grass roots” event, meaning qualification takes place at the club and then District level before the National finals, typically held at the Spring NABC in March. This year’s event is scheduled for Reno in March 2022. There are three flights: A (open), B (under 2500 masterpoints), and C (non-life masters under 500 masterpoints). Masterpoint limits are as of the June 2021 cycle. Each District sends the top pairs from each of the three flights to compete in the national finals. 

Typically, ACBL gives a travel subsidy to the top 2 pairs in Flight B and C. As with all ACBL grassroots events, the top pairs in each flight win a lot of gold and red points. Our District’s qualifying event will be held online on Sunday, October 24th (more details to follow). 

A Note on NAP vs GNT Flights

It’s a little confusing because GNT has 4 flights (Open, 6000, 2500, NLM 500), called Championship, A, B, and C. For whatever reason, NAP only has the three flights, called A, B, and C. Once you are above 2500, you are ready to play with the top pros.

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NAP in District 24, Club Quals and District Finals

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Lee Lin

After a nice lull following GNTs, there is suddenly a whole lot going on in the ACBL world. First off, a lot of folks are asking about NAP club qualifiers. You still have 2 full weeks to qualify, the All-For-One alliance and NYC Bridge / Honors promising quite a few sessions.

The Honors / All-For-One Schedule

What If You Can’t Make Those Sessions??

According to the NAP Conditions of Contest, an individual may qualify at any NAP club qualifier event in any district! Virtual clubs also count. If you happen to have membership in a virtual club outside of NYC that is running a qualifier, you might try that as well. However, keep in mind NAP is a grassroots event. The spirit of the event is to support clubs and drum up broad interest in the national championship tournaments. We encouraging supporting the NYC clubs.

Partnerships Across Flights? (Mixed Flight Partnerships)

What happens when you are a Flight C player partnering with a Flight B player? The two of you can partner up and play in a 0-2500 NAP qualifier. If you happen to make the top 50% of the field, you will both be individually qualified for Flight B, and the C player is qualified for C in addition to B.

This is explicitly covered in the Mixed Flight Partnerships.

  1. Partnerships consisting of players of different flights must enter events in the flights
    eligible to the top player.
  2. Any player who qualifies in a flight higher than his own is deemed to have also qualified
    in his own flight for the next level of competition.

Here are the official ACBL NAP conditions of contest.

What Day is the District NAP Final for My Flight?

The tentative plan is for Sunday, October 24th to be the date of the District 24 NAP finals. All flights will run on the same day, and the event will likely be online. Note, this date is tentative and might be subject to change. Check with your Unit officers or this website for the latest info.

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District 24 and 25 Regional Director Debate 8/11

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Lee Lin

The ACBL board of directors is going through a massive overhaul. For years, the board of directors consisted of 1 director per district for a total of 25 people representing all regions of North America. Now we are reducing that to 12 regions, where D24 and D25 will be represented by one director.

Who Will Be The Regional Director?

The election has 3 candidates (in arbitrary order): David Moss from D24, Allan Graves from D25, and Mark Aquino from D25. They will speak to all of the voting unit board members tomorrow on a massive Zoom debate / speech pow wow / caucus. Should be interesting!

Mark Aquino | American Contract Bridge League
Mark Acquino
Allan Graves
Allan Graves
David Moss
David Moss

Why Would We Reduce the Board of Directors Size?

What does it mean? Well, perhaps it’s easier to get 12 people to agree on things than 25? The cost of subsidizing 25 people to attend NABC 3 times a year will be roughly cut in half? Keep in mind, the Districts remain intact for now. There are still 25 districts to send players to represent in the GNT and NAP events. There will still be masterpoint races by district. But I suppose there will no longer be a district director for D24 and D25. Just a lot of unit presidents (Adam Parrish is president of U155), and then one regional director.

What Does the Board of Directors Do Anyway?

Quite a bit is always discussed, and some things voted upon. Their motions and minutes are always posted on ACBL, if you do some digging. Of the many motions under consideration each year, some of the most impactful have been the decision to allow Districts to send 2 teams in Flight B and C – a decision that ultimately allowed our 2nd place Flight C NYC team to win the national finals!

Each director has equal vote, but districts were more or less equal in ACBL population (District 25 is about 50% larger than District 24 – but their land mass includes the vast majority of New England).

How Does the Voting Work?

Only board members of their respective units may vote. For New York City, it is the board members of the GNYBA! Each vote is multiplied by the ACBL member population of that unit, but divided by the number of board members who cast a vote in that unit (if 20 out of 25 board members cast a vote with 5 abstaining, then my vote is 5% of our unit). Our vote carries quite a bit more weight than most units, because of our large ACBL population. However, D25 overall has 8 units that total to far more votes than both NYC and Long Island.

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