[News] RSVP Groups and New Year's Eve game

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from North Fair Oaks Mojo ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Feeling better every day! I really enjoyed conducting the Saturday morning workshop and the following game. Seven full tables! After the game, Lisa and I did a minor reorganization and cleanup of the kitchen. We moved the dealing workstation toward the back of the room, and left more table space for snacks near the front. I need to replace a couple of worn out tables, and I'm still hoping to do a full remodel when we have the chance. Baby steps! Baron Barclay finally took delivery of new ACBL all-plastic playing cards, so we're having fun replacing nearly all of our decks. (Have you noticed the ink flaking off of the old cards? They've started looking like a little snow storm on the back!) I have a big box of used card decks available! Ask for some at the club. RSVP Group changes When we first started setting up the club in RSVP Bridge, the model that seemed to make sense was to have each weekly game belong to a "group" in RSVP. Players would be added to groups as they played in a game, or could add themselves to groups in their RSVP profile. As we've gained experience with organizing the club model, we realized that these restrictive groups were making things more difficult than necessary for the club and our players. Instead of one group per weekly game, we now have two main game groups: "Open Games" and "Intermediate/Novice Events." Once you play in any game, you'll be added to the corresponding group. A big advantage is that all games in your group /will now appear on your RSVP calendar/. No more "I can't see the Friday game." Courses will always be in their own groups. They'll appear on your calendar when you join the course. It's been a great privilege to work with Brenda Egeland, the architect and owner of RSVP Bridge, making the product better for us and the many other clubs using the service. New Year's Eve teams Another change made in RSVP Bridge is that the New Year's Eve game was given its own "group," and (nearly) all existing club players were added to the group. You can now see the teams that have formed, and partnerships that are available to team with! We'll be serving party trays of Mexican food from Vallarta. We'll also be serving our regular beverages and have red and white wine on hand. If you're compelled to bring something, desserts and sweets would be the way to go. Anything left behind at the club (food or non-food items) *will be discarded at the end of the event*! Be prepared to take home your leftovers! Remember, teams are intended to be a mix of experienced players with inexperienced players. No team can exceed a total of 8 "points" as follows: * Players with 0-200 masterpoints: 1 point * Players with 200-1000 masterpoints: 2 points * Players over 1000 masterpoints: 3 points There are currently 11 teams signed up, with a limit of 16. We have four "two point" partnerships looking for teammates. *Take a look and draft one of these pairs for your team!* Do it soon! We'll start the game at 11:00 and be done by 4:00 PM, taking a leisurely party pace. ACBL membership dues increase On January 1 the ACBL's annual membership rates are going up. If you have a free "guest membership" now would be a great time to take advantage of your discount on the first year of full membership, before the increase. If you're not currently a member, start by getting yourself a free guest membership and player number. Use this link for your guest membership <http://my.acbl.org/membership/join?guest=X&club=277210&teacher=8202249>. Once you have that in place, you can convert to full membership before Jan. 1 and take advantage of the big discount. Coming up ... *5-game punch cards* will continue on sale for $55 through December 31. The January schedule of classes is posted! We'll be offering /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ on Wednesday afternoons, /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/ on Thursday evenings. This link goes to our current course schedule and descriptions: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for Thursday evenings starting April 2.  If you know folks looking for new player bridge classes before then, the 750 Club in Woodland Hills will be starting an Easybridge series on Saturday, January 17th at 9:30.Here's some information about their classes <https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?club=750&pid=display_page9>. Best regards Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan