Welcome to Unit 430's Webpage!

This is the official site of organized bridge (the card game) in Vancouver, Canada and its surrounding areas.  Our Unit is a large one of over 1,000 members and we run four open Sectional tournaments every year, plus a District-wide Sectional Tournament at Clubs and two Future Stars tournaments for non-Life Masters.  We also run a Monthly Unit Game and an annual extended teams competition called the IMP League.

Profits from these activities go into:

• supporting the local bridge scene through subsidy funds for players advancing from local qualifying competitions to the national finals
• our print newsletter The Matchpointer and this Web Site
• programs to attract new players to the exciting world of tournament bridge.

This is the Start Page of the Home Area, the front page of the site.  Above, under the headline you can see the nine Areas making up this Web Site.  Click on a coloured rectangle above, or on a single-lettered bid-box in the graphic, to go to the Start Page of that Area.  The pages we expect to be most frequently accessed are in the 32 clickable links in the back of the bid-box over to the left of your screen.  If you hover your mouse over any of the bid-box links (back or front areas) for about a half-second, you'll see a short description of that page.  You'll find many more tips on site navigation on the Help! page.

You may also wish to add this site to your browser's bookmarks or favorites.  If the site becomes unavailable for an extended period of time, Matchpointer Online editor Bruce McIntyre will add most of the content to his own personal web space at this link, which you may also want to add to your browser's bookmarks or favorites.

The new print Matchpointer has two different dates for this event.  The one on the back cover is correct; the one in the middle is incorrect.

The traffic light at the intersection of Highway 91 and Howes St, where bridge players exit the highway to get to Queenborough Community Centre, has long been a frustration for commuters.  The construction of an overpass has been completed, and this means that if you miss the rather poor signage leading to the exit, you'll find yourself 25 feet up with no way to get off as you pass Howes St.  Coming over the Queensborough Bridge from Vancouver/New Westminster, watch for the Howes St. exit to the right, almost the moment you get off the bridge.  Coming the other way from Richmond/Surrey/North Delta, watch for the Howes St. exit almost a mile before the former location of the intersection.

...and a few weeks after that. The four flights available are:

• Flight A: no masterpoint limit ($36 per team)
• Flight X: all players must have less than 3,000 MP as of September 1 ($36 per team)
• Flight B: all players must have less than 1,000 MP as of September 1 ($36 per team)
• Flight C: all players must be non-Life Masters with less than 500 MP as of September 1 ($24 per team)

We strongly reccommend that all teams have one or two players, including the primary match arranger, with e-mail to facilitate contact between teams for match scheduling.  Entry fees must be paid when signup sheets are filled out and handed in.  The proceeds from these entry fees pay the sanction for the IMP League and surplus amounts benefit the Unit Subsidy fund.

We expect to start Flight A before the end of September and get Flight X and Flight B going in early October.  There will be very little time to sign up after the Evergreen Sectional, especially in Flight A, which we want to start as soon as possible.  As As teams sign up for the IMP League we will add the team rosters (and unattached players looking for teammates) to this page so you can see which free agents have not been picked up yet...

The first issue of the print Matchpointer since Ben Takemori became the editor has been released!  Copies are available at the VBC and will be distributed to the other clubs at the Evergreen Sectional.  There will be many copies for players as well.  Contributors to the issue include Joerg Schneider, Mike Dimich, Brad Bart, Chris Diamond, Nick Stock, Gilbert Lambert, and several others.  Also featured is the usual buffet of information and schedules about Unit events.

The green flyer recently released for the Evergreen Sectional has the correct dates in large print on the front, but on the back in the Event Schedule area, the dates are wrong.  The correct dates are September 7-9.  UPDATE: New versions with the correct dates have now been released.  Please take some for your club from the plentiful supply at the Vancouver Bridge Centre.

(from the VBC Web Site)

From Ken: [2007-06-27]

GOOD NEWS!

There is going to be a 16th Anniversary Bash after all!

Some of you have probably already heard that I am staying on and have negotiated a new lease for a further four years.

It’s not a bargain, but under the present market conditions it’s very much a “do-able” lease. The main features are that in a roundabout way, there won’t be a real rental rate increase; the lease also allows for early termination with only four months’ notice. This lets me continue to look for a smaller space either in the existing building or elsewhere. (If any of you know of a suitable site, do please contact me.)

The new arrangement buys time to explore alternate structures of operating the club, with a view to enabling other people to take it over more readily. Commitment to a long-term lease has proven to be a huge stumbling block for that purpose. The short notice period also means that should attendance at the club falter and I cannot meet the rent expense, four months’ notice is much more palatable than being liable for rent to the end of the term.

I want to thank everyone who has been very loyal and supportive throughout these endeavours to keep the club going. Without your encouragement I’m not sure I’d be signing this new lease.

So now we can concentrate on the essential task of expanding the new players’ program. Priority one is to start a day time beginners’ game. The club sorely lacks an entry point for these players. The Wednesday am game that was once our entry-level game has now developed into more or less an open game. The hope is to repeat the history and success of that game with a new group of players. The Thursday night 49er game has introduced many new players to the club who eventually wander into other games and other clubs and provide a new energy to those games as their skill and comfort level increases. But we need a daytime entry-level game.

For now let’s begin by celebrating. I hope to see many of you at our anniversary bash on Sunday July 15.

The 2007 Canadian Championships, known as CBF Bridge Week, were held in Winnipeg May 26 - June 2.  Events held at Bridge Week were:

• CNTC-A: the Canadian National Teams Championship, Flight A (unlimited).  This event lasted from the beginning of the tournament to the end, eight days in all.  22 teams played a complete round robin (21 twelve-board matches) over four days to decide the final eight, and then 64 boards in the quarterfinals, 72 in the semifinals, and 96 in the final.  12 Unit 430 players (listed below in boldface) played on 6 different teams:
• Mark Molson (Honorary NPC), Robert Lebi, Dan Jacob, George Mittelman, Arno Hobart, David Grainger, Daniel Korbel.  This team finished second in the round-robin, won their quarter-final match, but lost in the semifinals to the eventual winners.  They were awarded bronze medals in the event.
• Aidan Ballantyne, Cam Doner, Jym Galland, Glen Thornborough, James McAvoy, Duncan Smith.  This team finished tied for sixth in the round-robin, won their quarter-final match, but lost in the semifinals.  They were awarded bronze medals in the event.
• Nicolas L'Ecuyer, Zygmunt Marcinski, Jurek Czyzowicz, Darren Wolpert, Nader Hanna, Bryan Maksymetz.  This team finished ninth in the round-robin, 14 VPs from a quarterfinal spot.
• Keith Dowdall, Michael Yuen, Ron Smith, Ernie Tradewell, David Breton, Guy Coutanche.  This team finished twelfth in the round-robin, 24 VPs from a quarterfinal spot.
• Brad Bart, Chris Diamond, Mike Takemori, Ben Takemori.  This team finished thirteeth in the round-robin, 31 VPs from a quarterfinal spot.
• Peter Jones, Chris Buchanan, Thomas Gandolfo, Allan Terplawy, Rhonda Foster, Gerry McCully.  This team finished fourteenth in the round-robin, 32 VPs from a quarterfinal spot.
• CNTC-B: the Canadian National Teams Championship, Flight B (all players 0-1000).  This event lasted five days: a three-day round-robin, 64-board semifinal matches, and a 72-board final.  Unit 430's only entry was the team of Kam Tang, Samuel Lai, John Chen, Tao Feng, and Jack Lee.  They finished third in the fourteen team round-robin but lost in the semifinals to the eventual winners.  They were awarded bronze medals.
• CWTC: the Canadian Womens Teams Championship.  This event was played concurrently with the CNTC-B, and also consisted of exactly 14 teams.  16 Unit 430 players (listed below in boldface) played on 4 different teams:
• Diane Isfeld, Samantha Nystrom, Patti Adams, Angela Fenton, Sandra Robson, Marguerite Chiarenza.  This team finished eleventh in the round-robin, 50 VPs from a semifinal spot.
• Monica Angus, Eurydice Nours, Doreen McOrmond, Marge Neate, Ev Hodge.  This team finished fourteenth in the round-robin, 80 VPs from a semifinal spot.
• Kathy Adachi, June Pocock, Julie Smith, Susan Peters.  This team finished fourth in the round-robin but lost in the semifinal to the eventual winners.  They were awarded bronze medals in the event.
• Dianna Gordon, Joan Eaton, Barbara Clinton, Sandra Fraser, Katrin Litwin, Beverly Kraft.  This team finished third in the round-robin, won their semi-final, but lost in the final.  They were awarded silver medals in the event.
• CSTC: the Canadian Seniors Teams Championship.  This event had a two-day qualifying Swiss Teams, followed by semifinals and finals.  No Unit 430 players participated in the event.
• CIPC: the Canadian IMP Pairs Championship  This event was a two-session stratified IMP Pairs held on Thursday.  Local players who finished in the top 25%:
• David Breton finished fourth, playing with Ernie Tradewell of Victoria.
• Rhonda Foster and Gerry McCully finished fifth.
• Don Sharp finished seventh (first in Flight B), playing with Peter Jacquest of Manitoba.
• Brad Bart and Michael Yuen finished twelfth.
• COPC: the Canadian Open Pairs Championship.  This event was a two-day matchpoint Pairs: qualifying on Saturday and a 15-table final on Sunday, including some pairs dropping in from the losing CNTC-A semifinalists.  Local players who made it to the last day and finished near the top:
• Bryan Maksymetz finished third, playing with David Willis of Ottawa.  The pair won the COPC Bronze medals.
• Dan Jacob finished fourth, playing with Robert Lebi of Toronto.
• Aidan Ballantyne and Katrin Litwin finished sixth.
• Cam Doner finished twelfth, playing with Andy Stark of Toronto.
• Brad Bart finished thirteenth, playing with Chris Buchanan of Edmonton.
• Michael Yuen finished fifteenth, playing with Guy Coutanche of Thunder Bay.

Complete results from Bridge Week 2007 are here.  Bridge Week 2008 will be in Montreal, May 24-31.  Bridge Week 2009 will be in Penticton, June 6-13 (the week before the Regional).

The District 19 Finals of the Grand National Teams were held at the Vancouver Bridge Centre on April 21 and 22, with 28 teams participating in four flights. Winners in each flight have the opportunity to represent District 19 in the National Final of the GNT at the Summer North American Bridge Championships in Nashville TN, July 19-29, 2007.  Each team that plays in the National Final receives US$1400 from the District to offset their traveling expenses.

In the masterpoints-unlimited championship flight, six teams competed.  The winners were the Seattle-based team of Tony Kasday, Henry Lortz, Steve Beatty, Paul Soloway and Wayne Ohlrich.  They defeated locals Brad Bart, Joel Martineau, Larry Pocock and Mike Dimich by 2 IMPs in the final match.

In Flight A (under 5000 MP), five teams competed.  The winners were cross-border team Phil Hernandez, Mike Wilson, Dave Grubbs, Howard Epley and Steven Handley.  They defeated locals Don Sache, Sheila Sache, Doug Hansford and Peter Morse by 10 IMPs in the final match.

In Flight B (under 2000 MP), fourteen teams competed.  The winners were the BC interior team of Judy Harris, Clark Glanville, Jane Fyfe and Ping Ding.  They defeated the Bellevue team of Chris Moore, Jen Chalfan, Drew Hoskins and Jeff Ford in the final match.

In Flight C (under 500 MP and non-Life Master; as of September 1 last year when club qualifying began), three teams competed.  The winners were locals Long Xie, Roy Li, Brian Liu, David Hu and Kai Zhou.  They defeated the Seattle-based team of Brian Zaugg, Howard Liu, Liliana Diaconescu and Yong Cao in the final match.

Congratulations to all teams and good luck in Nashville!

The Canadian Bridge Federation's Spring 2007 Rookie-Master Game was held at clubs across Canada on April 23.  The Vancouver Bridge Centre had 30 pairs of rookies and masters on a night when many stayed home to watch the Canucks play Game 7 of their first-round NHL playoff series.  The winner at the VBC game (results: Section A Section C) were Loring Windblad and Marilyn Knipp (photo, right) with 65.91%! They won four and a half masterpoints for the big 30-table win!

Hand analyses for the game were prepared by Bruce McIntyre.  Limited space and a doubling of the border whitespace by the print shop made these analyses a bit difficult to read, but here is a pdf version that you can enlarge on your screen to comfortable viewing size.  (We're still working on boards 31-36 and should have comments on them in a few days...)

Matchpointer Online is the new website of Unit 430, although it will continue to be a work in progress.   We have taken a large amount of time to develop a framework that will allow everything in the Unit, from informational items to interesting articles to interactive quizzes and polls, to be added as it is current and deleted when its newsworthiness expires.  The important thing is the framework itself, which is designed to make additions as easy as possible.  Over the next few months we will add content to the framework, making all of the information about Unit 430 as close as your browser (or an Internet connection anywhere).

Former print Matchpointer editor Bruce McIntyre is the editor of Matchpointer Online.  The print version of the Matchpointer will continue to be published several times a year, but the online version will be updated continuously.  This is the place to come for the latest information on Unit 430 events.  Make Matchpointer Online one of your browser's bookmarks or favorites.

Matchpointer Online editor Bruce McIntyre edits District 19 Regional Daily Bulletins, except for the Alaska Regionals.  He can be reached by e-mail.  Daily Bulletins will be posted online at this page.