Announcements

At long last we are ready to open back up. The date is June 1st, a Tuesday. We will start f2f with games on Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30. In addition to the Open game, we will offer a Limited game if there are enough players. Let’s assume the Limited will be a 299er but it could be adjusted depending on who shows up.

For now, the current schedule of Virtual online games will remain exactly the same minus the Tuesday and Thursday games. We would like to move the Wednesday morning 499er game to the evening at some point, but for now it will stay at 9:30.

The expectation/assumption is that EVERYONE is fully vaccinated.

Masks. This one is a little tricky. Governor Brown has significantly lessened the requirement for masks in public. Our hunch is that if we require masks now, some folks will stay away. On the other hand, it is possible some folks will not come if masks are not required. It would be helpful to hear from folks who feel like they will only play f2f if everyone is masked up and also from those who feel they will not play if masks are required. Please respond to donmarsh45@comcast.net or Sherri_morgan@comcast.net.

There will be no food. We will have beverages.

Of course, things could change between now and June 1st. We will always adhere to State, County and Springfield guidelines.

We’re once again posting to the Emerald Bridge Club Facebook page. And we’ve set up a Twitter account for the club.

We want to try to keep our members and other interested individuals connected and informed in a variety of ways. By using social media, we feel we can reach our audience in a more timely fashion than just through the website while bringing in a wide variety of information about the world of bridge.

So checkout the Facebook page and take a look at us on Twitter. The more you interact, the more the word is spread about our club.

Here are the links to the club’s social media feeds. The links are in the footer of every page on our website as well.

By the way, if you haven’t tried Twitter, give it a shot. It seems perplexing at first, but when you get the hang of it, you may find it, as they say, interesting. Here’s a hint: after you sign up on Twitter, you need to follow other Twitter accounts, such as EBC’s (@bridgeemerald). And ask others to follow your account. You’d be surprised what appears in your feed. But if you don’t follow anyone or ask anyone to follow you, you can tweet forever and probably no one except you will see it.

From Betsy Ovitt:

Hooligans/Planet Hool is a group is out of San Francisco and is run by and old high school friend of mine that I reconnected with during the lockdown.

They have been very successful at bringing new or rusty beginning players into bridge as it starts with the play of the hand.  They use three apps where it starts with just taking tricks, what that means and how to do it.  The point is that the play of the hand is way more interesting and fun than starting with bidding.  In fact, bidding is the last thing that is taught.  The progression goes from taking tricks, to the play of the hand, to defense. Bidding is last after folks are hooked on the game.

it is open to all ages.  The 2-hour sessions are by ZOOM.  You don’t have to attend every session and can drop out if it is too basic.  It is quite casual and friendly.

Click the poster below to go to their website.

EBC will reopen June 1st. Games
at the club Tuesday & Thursday at 12:30
Rest of virtual schedule remains same
Vaccine, Required – Mask, Optional

Congratulations:
New Sectional Master – David Johnson
New Regional Master – Carol Schaafsma
New Life Master – Deb Dotters and Dawn Guenther
New Sapphire Life Master – Jon Neimand

EBC NOT Opening in May – Stay Tuned
PROPOSED Face 2 Face Schedule EBC:
Tuesday – 12:30 Open & Limited if warranted
Thursday – 12:30 Open & Limited if warranted
PROPOSED Virtual Schedule:
Monday – 9:30 299er & Open
Wednesday – 6:30 499er & Open
Friday – 9:30 299er & Open
Saturday – 10:00 199er & Open
Sunday – 6:30 199er & Open

If you wish to provide feedback on the proposed schedule, leave a comment in the post. Don and Sherri will be notified of your feedback, and you will be notified when others post a comment. If you do not wish to receive notifications, uncheck the notification box in your comment.