Would you like to serve on the Unit Board?

If you live in one of the counties below, this is the year to elect your representative to the Unit 208 Board of Directors:

Area #5:  Christian, Dewitt, Logan, and Macon Counties.

Area #8:  Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Douglas, Edgar, Moultrie, and Shelby Counties.

The Area Representative meets with the Board three times a year at our Unit sectionals. Anyone from these areas who would like to run for a seat on the Board should send name and ACBL number to Unit Secretary Marilyn Stickel by May 1. Elections will be held in May and June. You can contact Marilyn by email (b.stickel@mchsi.com) or  postal mail at 204 North Fulton Street, Lacon IL 61540.

Illini Champaign Regional -- May 25-31, 2010

It's not too early to make plans for our Unit's annual regional, coming up Memorial Day week at the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center in Champaign. You can check out the schedule in the March Bridge Bulletin and on the tournament web page.

Bridge rate is $95 double at the Hilton Garden Inn or $105 double at Homewood Suites (Homewood rooms include daily breakfast and weekday dinners). You can book either hotel by phone (Hilton --217-352-9970;  Homewood -- 352-9960) or through the tournament's online booking page. Please reserve early, especially if you need a room with two beds.

Mini--McKenney & Ace of Clubs updates

Visit the ACBL Unit Awards page to view lists of the top ten Unit players in each category (type 208 into the box that asks for your Unit number). Results will not be official until mid-February. Year-end  results for our Central Illinois Unit will be published in the April issue of this newsletter.

For fun and practice

The best way to keep your mind "tuned up" for bridge is to play regularly, but you can also stay sharp by finding some time every day to study or read about the game. These three sites are excellent choices if you want to improve your skills or just enjoy an interesting read.  

Bridge Clues by Mike Lawrence -- This site is packed with entertaining puzzles that test your skills and teach basic and advanced techniques. Six new deals are posted every day -- a bidding and a play quiz for each of three levels of experience (beginner, intermediate and advanced). An page with links to other excellent articles by Mike Lawrence is here.

ACBL's Bridge Hand of the Week -- Every week features a new column, written by an expert player, with a built-in lesson on bidding, declarer play or defense -- or sometimes all three. The link is also on the ACBL homepage (right-hand column) at www.acbl.org .

Danny Kleinman's Deal of the Week -- Expert Danny Kleinman offers a weekly hand and analysis geared toward intermediate to advanced players. The homepage has links to this week's new column, an archive of past weekly deals and a wide range of other bridge articles.

Coming up on the Club Calendar

  ACBLwide Senior Pairs -- Monday afternoon, February 22

This annual event, open to ages 55+, offers extra masterpoints, pre-dealt hands and online hand analyses after the game. The same hands are being played at clubs around the nation and will offer District-wide and nationwide awards. The sanction fee is $1 more than your club's regular entry fee. Central Illinois clubs that will be hosting this game are:

    Champaign:  Bridge at Ginger Creek  (12:30 pm) -- Karen Walker (217-359-0042)   kwalker2@comcast.net

    Bloomington:  Monday Morning DBC  (11:45 am) -- Stephen Hawthorne  (309-827-7581)    sbigargman@msn.com

    Springfield:  Bridge Club of Springfield  (12:30 pm) -- Ann Caparros or Janice Franz (217-546-0597)   jfranz5201@comcast.net

  2010-11 North American Pairs -- Club qualifying games in June, July & August

There's no limit on the number of these special games your club can hold. The 2011 national finals will be held in March in Louisville KY.

Cheer on our Unit winners:  The 2009-10 North American Pairs concludes in March when District winners play in the national championship in Reno NV. Three pairs from our Unit will be representing District 8 in the Flight B national finals: 
    Dan Faulkner, Monticello IL & Gary Dell, Champaign IL
    Dan Bunde & Michael Ring, Urbana IL
    Ron Diehl, Effingham IL & Mark Daily, Charleston IL

You can check on their results in the online Daily Bulletins from Reno.

In Memory

Central Illinois players were saddened by the recent deaths of Dick Benson, 68, of Leroy and Dot Roemelt, 79, of Champaign. An article about Dick is in this issue of the newsletter.

Originally from Massachusetts, Dot (left) was a long-time and very popular player at Bridge at Ginger Creek in Champaign. She was a Life Master with more than 700 masterpoints. Dot was also an active bridge volunteer who served for many years as the hospitality and registration chairman at the Illini Regional.

Dot will be missed by her many friends and bridge partners in Central Illinois. Condolences to Will, her husband of 55 years, and their three sons -- Geoffrey, Gregory and Douglas -- and four grandchildren.
 

Movin' Up 

   Congratulations to these Unit members who recently advanced in rank: