We're Still Trying!

by Rod Bias

More than 20 enthusiastic members of the Kiva Duplicate Bridge Club in Sun City West expressed interest in helping coach bridge teams in the Dysart School District. Visions of weekly practices at each school and monthly matches between various schools danced in my brain.

We had coaches meetings; we prepared materials; Lauren Friedman came from San Francisco to talk about how their school program was launched. Jane Woolley and LaVonne Cook led the way in stirring interest and recruiting coaches. I even established a website at http://Bridge-Squad.Info.

In order to be ready for the start of school by early August, we decided to put on a district-wide, six-session summer program. Our first evening workshop was June 10. Thousands of flyers were distributed; I expected one, two, three dozen kids or more. Who knew? Maybe we could even form teams of four at several schools!

Then the call came from Josh Swartz, Enrichment Coordinator: we would probably be cancelled because of “inadequate enrollment.” We were hoping for at least a dozen kids and we didn’t get them. I was willing to start with fewer – I was still psyched at the prospect of pre-teen Life Masters.

Austin, a 9 year old, caught on very quickly. Reluctant, at first, to table his cards as dummy, he was soon sorting his cards and accurately determining shape and HCP faster than the others. The kids all seemed to have fun. After we ended I overheard Matthew talking to someone on his cell phone. He said, “Yeah, it was fun. I’m glad I came.”

Not withstanding the enthusiasm of nearly two dozen adults and a handful of kids, Josh has decided to discontinue the program for the summer and asked us to plan to restart in Sept. I am still hopeful that we can move forward. Kids today have many options; bridge has a lot of competition for their attention. This time the numbers didn’t add up; hopefully next time…!

PR Team Goes to Work Reaching New Players!

by Rod Bias

New players are the future of bridge. We must recruit and retain them. Did you know we have a Public Relations Team to do just that?

Neil Sweezy, captain of the PR Team and a retired sales rep, is summering in Logan, Utah. Even so, those of us still in Phoenix are continuing to work the phones and email. Wanna help out?

Ethel Blake-Ward and Robbin Lieberman (both enthusiastic newer players in Unit 354 who are ranked on the Mini-McKenney) have been welcoming new ACBL members. Ellen Meine, Sue Ward, Gloria Headley, and Diane Denton (all from The Peoria Bridge Studio) have been calling and encouraging players with less than ten masterpoints to play (free!) at our sectional tournaments.

The Pro-Am game at the Desert Empire Regional on Aug 18 is our next big push.  We will be phoning new players and encouraging them to join the fun and have the opportunity to play with a partner who really knows the ropes. 

If you would like to help promote bridge in the Valley, we are looking for volunteers to contact members who are less involved to encourage them to compete at the table.

Not a salesperson?  No problem! Mainly we want enthusiastic, friendly people. To volunteer call Rod at (623) 444-7960.