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> I'm writing this week from the Venetian Las Vegas resort. Jane and I enjoy our occasional three-day weekends with a little getaway. My mailbag letter to the "Sorry, Partner" podcast was read in this week's episode. The hosts had some fun with it. (I'm always a little surprised when I'm named as just "Mojo" with no explanation of the origin!) It's the episode that features bridge champion Agustin Madala. https://sorrypartner.com/ (It's in the first 10 minutes of the episode.) What is the bridge "Unit?" The ACBL mission is to "promote, grow, and sustain the game of bridge and serve bridge-related interests of our Members." Serving this mission /at a local level/ involves dividing the ACBL into districts. There are twenty-five ACBL districts covering North America. Our district is number 23, including only Los Angeles county, and is one of the smallest in both area and membership. Districts are charged with running regional tournaments, and the two annual grass-roots events: the North American Pairs and Grand National Teams. Districts are divided into smaller organizations called Units. ACBL bridge units are charged with running sectional tournaments and local events called "unit games" or "unit championships." Units and districts for the most part are completely volunteer, non-profit, charitable organizations. Their boards are elected volunteers -- mostly people who are willing to give their time to make bridge tournaments happen by arranging for locations, directors (who are paid), bringing food, serving as partnership chairs, or writing newsletters. Our unit is #559 in the ACBL, and its official name is the "Pasadena San Gabriel Unit." It includes two full-time bridge clubs, and invitational games at some of the country clubs in the area. We're neighbors with Glendale Verdugo, Pomona Covina, Downey Whittier, and Santa Clarita Antelope Valley. There are nine units total in District 23. Ours is one of the largest. On March 3 at the unit game our unit will be having its annual membership meeting, electing its volunteer board, hosting a party, and giving out achievement awards for players who did well in their peer groups with the Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKinney awards. (Curious about the relationship between clubs and units? There really isn't one! There are some units that also operate clubs. Ours is not one of them. The Unit rents space from the clubs to hold Unit games.) Classes this week Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for a full course. Here are the topics this week: * Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "MInor suit openings and responses" * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Introduction to Declarer Play/ "The trump suit, and counting losers" * Saturday, 9:30 AM, /Introduction to Defense/, "Defensive signals in trump contracts" * Saturday, 1:00 PM, /Workshop and game/, "Opening lead basics: Leading partner's suit" Coming up ... Next week in honor of the Lunar New Year all games are Club Championships, which pay more than three times as many masterpoints as regular club games! Wednesday's game will be a full Chinese New Year party with lunch, treats and decorations! That's the Feb. 7 game. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary