Greater St. Louis Bridge News

News from Greater St. Louis Unit 143

Editor:  Sheryl Finkenstadt, St. Louis MO   sheryl@finkenstadt.com

“Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.”

 Unit 143 Highlights

Heartfelt thanks go to Mary Hruby, outgoing Vice President of the Unit 143 Board of Directors. After nine dedicated years of service, Mary retires from the Board, as per the by-laws.  Most bridge players will know her from her friendly and insightful work as Partnership Chair. Mary will continue in that  responsibility, for which the Unit is very grateful.

November 14^th Board of Directors meeting elected officers for the upcoming year:

President – John Samsel

Vice-President – Suzi Shymanski-Moore

Treasurer – Bob Janis

Secretary – Bob Wheeler

Unit 143 is continuing to have a very popular monthly Unit Game called “Eight is Enough.”  This is a one-session team event where each team consists of 4 players, whose aggregate total is 8 or fewer “points.”  (Flight A = 3 points, B = 2 points, and C = 1 point.)  This effectively combines experienced with inexperienced players and levels the playing field a tad. It’s the competitiveness of a team game -- with the friendliness of social bridge (remember THOSE days?).  Players love it, and are “voting with their feet” by filling the playing area to capacity month after month. Donna Coker is the non-playing director.

A check for $800 was presented to Backstoppers on Oct 18, just before the start of the Friday evening Fall Sectional game. Started in 1959, The BackStoppers, Inc provides needed support and financial assistance to the spouses and children of all local and county police officers, firefighters, publicly funded paramedics, EMTs, and volunteer fire protection units, who have lost their lives performing their duty. Deaths from natural causes, illnesses or injuries are outside the organization’s scope.

Three Unit 143 pairs earn the right to represent District 8 in the North American Pairs in the Spring NABC in Detroit: Joan Wieber & Mary Smith are first in Flight C.  Third-place winners were Jacque Sincoff & En Xie in Flt A and Jason Clevenger & Sasanka Ramanadham in Flt B. 

Fifty-one Unit 143 pairs scored overall in the District 8 StaC Week. It’s interesting that 13 (obviously, B or C pairs) of those 51 district-level winners placed ABOVE their flight stratification. Here are the six pairs who won first place in the District in the indicated flights:

Monday Evening: 
   1 (A) Jacqueline Sincoff - Sheldon Margulis, 72.62%

Wednesday Evening:
   1 (A & B) Sheryl Finkenstadt - Bill Finkenstadt, 64.81% 
   1 (C) Janet Vontz - Mike Vontz, 52.78%            

Thursday Morning, Limited Pairs (I/N)
   1 (A) Sue Gallop - Judy Milton, 26.00%

   3 (A) 1 (B & C) Lauretta Weimer - Peggy Douglas, 59.66%

Thursday Evening
   5 (A) 1 (B) Sheryl Finkenstadt - Bill Finkenstadt, 65.00%

Mini-McKenney & Ace-of-Clubs Leaders

Through Dec 6, 2007

Here are the Unit 143 leaders in the ACBL masterpoint races. An asterisk (*) denotes a Unit player who is also leading District 8 in that category.  

 Upcoming Tournaments:

• Jan 18 – 20, 2008 -- Sectional

• March 1, 2008 -- 199er Championship

• May 16 – 18, 2008 – Sectional

• August 11 – 17, 2008 – Regional, with four NEW “Prime-Time” KOs

• September 27 – 199er Championship

• October 17 – 19, 2008 -- Sectional