Western Mass Bridge Association

Unit game and lunch will be held Saturday, September 26th at the Methodist Church in Northampton. Lunch will be provided by the Unit starting at noon with the unit championship game at 1 pm. Please sign up for the lunch and game through Peter Samsel in Pittsfield, John DeBaggis in Great Barrington or Sheila Ryan in Northampton.

Come have fun in the Berkshires! The Western Mass Sectional is happening August 1 and 2! This is a great reason to spend a day (or weekend) in The Berkshires. Please join us in Great Barrington, MA for 2 session pairs or 299er pairs on Saturday or 2 session Open Swiss on Sunday. This year we have fun door prizes and special bridge rates at the Holiday Inn Express close to the venue. See the attched flyer for details. Hope you can join us!

The Northampton Bridge Club successfully launched its first face-to-face evening game in years on May 5th! Five full tables enjoyed an evening filled with bridge, snacks, and fun. Special thanks to our Director, Joe, for handling computer glitches and adjusting to a new space. We also want to express our gratitude to our friends from the Hartford Bridge Club for traveling here to support our new game. If you would like to play but need a partner, please contact Phillippe Galaski at (413) 374-6491 or phgalaski@gmail.com. Join us on Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM == Please note the new time! at the United Methodist Church on Rocky Hill Road in Northampton. We hope to see you there!

Unit 196 held its annual Unit Championship game and lunch on September 13th. We had 16 tables in play following lunch and our annual meeting. WMBA Board President Sheila Ryan announced that the Pittsfield Habitat for Humanity has been selected to receive one of 5 grants from the ACBL charity in the amount of $6000.00. The membership also approved a motion to award $500.00 grants to each of the other local charities nominated by our members. New board members were elected: Sheila Ryan, President Anita Thompson, Vice President Judy Larsen, Treasurer Liz Hildenbrandt, Secretary Peter Samsel John DeBaggis Andy Lipps Sandy Walters Click here to view OPEN Pairs Results Click here to view 299 Pairs Results

Our Unit's annual meeting this year will be on October 5th, Saturday, @ 12 noon at the church in Northampton. This is the same time and venue where the annual club meeting for Northampton Bridge Club will be held, and the new board of directors for both the Unit and Northampton club will be elected. After the meetings, there will be a Unit game. Please save the date and plan to attend! Lunch will be provided at 12 and game starts at 1pm. The address is Christ United Methodist Church, 271 Rocky Hill Road (Route 66) in Northampton .

T his year’s Sectional, held in Great Barrington provided a fun weekend of Bridge. Thanks to Tournament Chair Michael Ramella who advertised the tournament to the community and secured donations from area businesses to help offset the cost and provide an array of door prizes for players. Our numbers were up considerably over last year: in 2023 we had 37 tables in play on Saturday – this year we had 50.5 ! Our tables for Swiss teams on Sunday were up 50% - from 12 to 18 !   Thanks to our Tournament Director Tim Hill who once again put in two long days ensuring that our games went smoothly.   Behind the scenes a number of members stepped up to help – thanks to John DeBaggis for all of his work moving, setting up and taking down tables and chairs. Thanks also to Board members Judy Larsen, Andrew Lipps, Kathy Love, Pat Watroba, Sandy Walters, Yan Drabek and Peter Samsel for all of their contributions. Putting on a Sectional takes a lot of work and it paid off to see so many comi...

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, John DeBaggis will be running duplicate games in the Berkshire South Auditorium, 15 Crissey Road. The games will start promptly at 12:30. Cost is $10 per person. The games will start on May 28, and continue until Labor Day. You are welcome to call John if you have questions, at 413-281-2744.

Beginner bridge lessons starting May 13th at the Lathrop Community, 1 Shallowbrook Lane, Northampton. This is an 8-week session, Mondays from 6-8 pm, $45.00 includes a book. Please contact Sheila at Ryandahl108@gmail.com if interested.

The Southbridge Regional will be held April 17 to 21 at the Wellsworth Hotel in Southbridge, MA. Click here to see the complete schedule . Special programs for beginners and intermediate players:

Our annual meeting has taken place on Oct 25 and a total of 12 tables played a game afterwards. We want to thank Peter for his many years of service as the president of the association! The membership has elected new board members and Sheila Ryan to be our new president. WMBA Board Members (2023) Sheila Ryan (President) Robert Brodeur (Vice President) Yan Drabek (Secretary) Judy Larsen (Treasurer) Andrew Lipps Kathy Love Peter Samsel Sandy Walters Pat Watroba

Special Unit Meeting and Game on Wednesday, October 25 We plan to have our annual meeting and elections for the Western Mass Bridge Association at our regular game on Wednesday, October 25. The game will be an Instant Matchpoint Game, with a Gold Point for first place finishers, and combined Red and Black Points for others. The Northampton Bridge Club members plan to attend this game in Pittsfield, instead of their own Wednesday afternoon game. For the elections, we need enough voting members of WMBA to be present, so we would appreciate all of you attending. The location for this game is: South Congregational Church 110 South St, Pittsfield, MA 01211 The schedule for this game is: 12 Noon – pizza for all, along with our annual WMBA meeting & elections 12:30 – Unit Game, with Open and 299er sections (may start a bit late if the meeting is not over by 12:30) Game over by about 4 PM If anyone is willing to be a...

Staying in the game: Longtime Greenfield resident keeps bridge alive by bringing it online By MARY BYRNE Staff Writer Bob Sagor plays an online game of bridge. STAFF PHOTO / MARY BYRNE When the COVID-19 pandemic hit three years ago, one longtime Greenfield resident never would have guessed that the online bridge community he helped to create would later become the one he’d rely on. Click here to read more... We owe our thanks to Bob Sagor. He was interviewed by the Greenfield Recorder and this article appeared on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

We are very excited to offer an OPEN Pairs club game at the campus. Pre-dealt common-game hands, ACBL masterpoint award. There will be 10+ students from the Amherst College joining us, and maybe more from other nearby campuses. If it goes well, we will offer more games in the future. So please consider coming to play with us. Date: March 25, Saturday Time: 10am Where: The Powerhouse at Amherst College Cost: $5 (first timers at our club play for free!) Director: Philippe Galaski Parking: Parking lot next to the Powerhouse Interested persons please email ydrabek@live.com before March 22, Wednesday so she can get a count and bring enough tables. MASKING: Masks are optional. Players, staff and volunteers are advised to check the COVID-19 Community Level rate as determined by the CDC or a similar metric from a health agency in making their decision on masking. Masking is recommended if an attendee is at high risk for severe illness or otherwise is a member of a ...

On March 4, despite the snow storm, the Amherst College First Collegiate Tournament took place. Seeing the new energy for the game is truly encouraging and exhilarating. The organizer, Michael Xu, has written a report which can be read here: https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/amherst-college-first-collegiate-tournament/ .  The Northampton Bridge Club, whose players are from all over the valley, welcomed the future stars of our game, and extended our invitation to everyone to play our Tuesday and Thursday 7pm games on BBO. Several students expressed interests to play with us online, and several requested to have in-person games offered at times more suitable for them to attend (our current Wednesday 1pm game will not work for them). We will discuss this in our next board meeting. Comment and suggestions? Send them to treeomatic at gmail dot com. Players from Amherst College and Brown University. There were five tables at play. Some had already left when this pictur...

If you need a partner, check out this page: FIND A PARTNER You can put your name, dates and contact info in the document. If you know someone who wants to learn, contact Judy at judyquake@gmail.com who is going to start a beginner class soon. A Bridge to Brainpower?

The Northampton Bridge Club will resume in-person play on Wednesdays, at 1 pm., beginning September 7th. Games take place at the Christ United Methodist Church, 271 Rocky Hill Rd (route 66) Northampton. Anyone wishing to play duplicate bridge is welcome. For those who are interested in learning,or brushing up their game, contact Judy Hyde, club president, who is teaching a beginners class at 10 am Saturday mornings. She can be reached at judyquake@gmail.com. Click here to register interest in finding a partner. Players are asked to arrive at the game by 12:50, to allow proper game set-up. Masks are required.

The Northampton Bridge Club will restart meeting for face to face duplicate games on Wednesday, June 29 . Players need to show proof of vaccination and wear masks at all times. There will be no food provided. If you need a partner, please contact Judy Hyde at 427-5669.   The club is hoping to continue with the Wednesday game in person, but it will depend on attendance. Game Location: Christ United Methodist Church   271 Rocky Hill Road, Northampton, MA 01062 

We are very sad to report that Northampton Bridge Club member Paul Bacon has died. A Diamond Life Master, Paul was a longtime member of the club, and he rarely missed a game on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. Paul played his last games with his long time partner Philippe Galaski, and two of his many students Liz Hildebrandt and Yan Drabek. Paul will be greatly missed! The funeral will be held on Wednesday, March 16th at 11 AM at the All Saints Church located at 17 North Street in Ware, MA. It will be followed by a graveside ceremony at the New Saint William cemetery nearby. People are also invited to join the family at Teresa's Restaurant at 315 Palmer Rd, Ware. Please click here to read Paul's obituary. Bid what you have. Do not play with fear! ------ Paul Bacon NOTE: The Northampton Bridge Club's Wednesday game on March 16th at 1PM has been cancelled!

The Northampton Bridge Club is offering a new game on Monday afternoons starting on February 7, 2022. You are invited!  Game Time: 2 pm See you at the table on BBO .