Tim White, ACBL D19 Director, has sent us a letter detailing ACBL’s plans for a reopening of face-to-face bridge. This is a must-read document for tournament organizers, Unit boards, club owners and players who want an update on the current situation.
Click here to access Tim’s letter.
For more information, you can reach Tim at [email protected]
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind is putting on a fundraising bridge game, Bridging Barriers Charity Game. Here’s a chance to contribute to a worthy cause while enjoying your favourite game. And note that you don’t need to live in Canada* to play!
The cost is $50, eligible for an income tax receipt for the whole amount.
* Note: Everyone is eligible for prizes but tax receipts are of use to Canadian taxpayers only.
This spring we will roll out a new semi-annual newsletter. Our target date for the inaugural issue is late April 2021. It will be web-based and hosted on our website (d19.org). We will send out an email to all D19 members (at least the ones with email addresses) advising when each new issue is posted. In addition to highlighting player achievements and updates from the District, we look forward to having challenging hands to review, news from the local Units and more. Anyone have any good bridge jokes they want to share? We welcome your submissions, suggestions and ideas of all types. Please email them to: [email protected]
The following District 19 Regional Tournaments have been cancelled for 2021: Victoria (originally scheduled for April), Penticton (June) and Lynwood (August).
Whistler is still in the cards, so to speak, and could be held at the end of October or the beginning of November. A final decision will be made by D19’s Board no later than the end of May.
Here’s ACBL Executive Director Joseph Jones’s full text:
Due to the ongoing risk posed by the surging coronavirus and the slow rollout of the vaccine, the ACBL will not staff face-to-face bridge tournaments through April 30, 2021.
This means all Sectionals and Regionals scheduled during this period have been canceled. Consistent with this decision, the ACBL is also canceling the sanctions for any remaining Non-Life Master Tournaments or other bridge tournaments through the end of April where ACBL Tournament Directors are not technically required.
We will contact you by March 1 if the moratorium will be extended past April 30.
Online events, including Regional-rated tournaments, will continue to be offered along with chances to win gold, silver, red and black masterpoints®. Click here for the 2021 schedule of online events. More details can be found at www.acbl.org/virtual.
Sincerely,
Joseph Jones
ACBL Executive Director
January 12, 2021
The District 19 Board of Directors is doing its best to navigate the challenges and uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Board members are monitoring developments in policies and guidance from national, regional and local government authorities in Canada and US, and the ACBL. We review, discuss and evaluate implications and plans for D19-sponsored events going forward. We will keep D19 membership apprised of developments as they take place. Please see below an update on upcoming events:
D19 Burnaby Regional (April 6-12, 2020) – Notice of cancellation of this tournament was provided to D19 membership via email on March 17, 2020.
D19 Grand National Teams (GNT) Finals – The D19 GNT Finals scheduled for April 18 & 19 at the Vancouver Bridge Centre are cancelled. The D19 Board is exploring recovery plans for this event. The ACBL Board of Directors has re-scheduled the North American GNT Finals from NABC Montreal in July to NABC Tampa this fall. (ACBL will be establishing the dates of the GNT Finals to be held at Tampa.) Districts are now given until October 1, 2020 to hold their district GNT Finals. The D19 Board is exploring the alternatives of running this event face-2-face, as it has been, or online. More information on plans for D19 GNT Finals will be announced when it becomes available.
D19 Penticton Regional (June 15-21, 2020) – At present, this tournament is still “on.” Financial and other considerations bearing on the decision whether to proceed with the tournament are under review. The D19 Board will further discuss the situation during its telephonic board meeting the week of April 21. We expect to make a final decision about Penticton no later than May 1.
ACBL’s North American NAP Finals – Last fall’s 2019 D19 NAP Finals qualified pairs for ACBL’s North American NAP Finals that were to have been held at the cancelled NABC Columbus. To recover the North American NAP Finals, the ACBL Board of Directors has decided that the event will take place at NABC Montreal in July. (ACBL will be establishing the dates of the NAP Finals to be held at Montreal.) If NABC Montreal were to be cancelled, the event would then be down streamed to NABC Tampa and run on dates not to conflict with the GNT Finals to be held at Tampa. The D19 NAP Coordinator will continue to coordinate plans with pairs who qualified last fall for the North American NAP Finals.
We regret the impacts this situation is having on clubs, units and players. We will continue to look and plan ahead in pursuit of the best available plans under the circumstances.
Thank you for your understanding,
D19 Board of Directors
The District 19 Board of Directors is doing its best to navigate the challenges and uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Board members are monitoring developments in policies and guidance from national, regional and local government authorities in Canada and US, and the ACBL. We review, discuss and evaluate implications and plans for D19-sponsored events going forward. We will keep D19 membership apprised of developments as they take place. Please see below an update on upcoming events:
D19 Burnaby Regional (April 6-12, 2020) – Notice of cancellation of this tournament was provided to D19 membership via email on March 17, 2020.
D19 Grand National Teams (GNT) Finals – The D19 GNT Finals scheduled for April 18 & 19 at the Vancouver Bridge Centre are cancelled. The D19 Board is exploring recovery plans for this event. The ACBL Board of Directors has re-scheduled the North American GNT Finals from NABC Montreal in July to NABC Tampa this fall. (ACBL will be establishing the dates of the GNT Finals to be held at Tampa.) Districts are now given until October 1, 2020 to hold their district GNT Finals. The D19 Board is exploring the alternatives of running this event face-2-face, as it has been, or online. More information on plans for D19 GNT Finals will be announced when it becomes available.
D19 Penticton Regional (June 15-21, 2020) – At present, this tournament is still “on.” Financial and other considerations bearing on the decision whether to proceed with the tournament are under review. The D19 Board will further discuss the situation during its telephonic board meeting the week of April 21. We expect to make a final decision about Penticton no later than May 1.
ACBL’s North American NAP Finals – Last fall’s 2019 D19 NAP Finals qualified pairs for ACBL’s North American NAP Finals that were to have been held at the cancelled NABC Columbus. To recover the North American NAP Finals, the ACBL Board of Directors has decided that the event will take place at NABC Montreal in July. (ACBL will be establishing the dates of the NAP Finals to be held at Montreal.) If NABC Montreal were to be cancelled, the event would then be down streamed to NABC Tampa and run on dates not to conflict with the GNT Finals to be held at Tampa. The D19 NAP Coordinator will continue to coordinate plans with pairs who qualified last fall for the North American NAP Finals.
We regret the impacts this situation is having on clubs, units and players. We will continue to look and plan ahead in pursuit of the best available plans under the circumstances.
Thank you for your understanding,
D19 Board of Directors
Here’s a message to all members from Chris Cookson, District 19’s president:
“The District 19 board will be meeting online on April 21 and we hope to be in a position to make a decision about the fate of the Penticton Regional. In the meantime, I urge the membership to plan on going, assume it’s on, but not make any non-refundable deposits on accommodation or transportation.
Next week, we will be reviewing the fate of the GNTs (scheduled for April 18-19 in Vancouver) and will be informing all members of our decision via email.”
Canadian bridge has lost a significant member and friend with the passing of Peter Herold. Peter died peacefully in his sleep after a long, optimistic and courageous battle with cancer.
Peter was a part of the lives of many Canadian bridge players. He was taught to play bridge at a young age by his grandmother, and always loved the game. He became a passionate, skilled, and highly regarded duplicate player.
His significant accomplishments included victories in the Canadian National Team Championships, the Canadian Open Pairs Championships, and the Australian National Open Pairs.
His sense of humour and love of life will be greatly missed by his wife, Alana, and his many friends. A big party will be planned at a future date in Victoria, to commemorate his passing.
The Flight C pairs highlighted D19’s representation at the North American Pairs (NAP) National Finals played at NABC Memphis on March 30 and 31.
Of the 88 Flight C pairs who entered the two-day event from across the ACBL, all four D19 pairs qualified on Saturday for the two-session final on Sunday.
Three of the four D19 pairs finished in the top 16 overall in the event, an amazing show of strength of Flight C pairs in D19.
