Our unit has had a terrific start to the year. This spring, we made the move from the Masonic Hall to the Elks Lodge in Cranberry for our sectionals, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. The Elks proved to be an excellent venue, with plenty of parking, bright lighting, comfortable temperature control, and a layout that made play smooth and enjoyable.

We look forward to continuing that success with our Summer Sectional at the Cranberry Elks Lodge, July 24–26. Whether you enjoyed the spring sectional or are planning your first visit to the new venue, we hope you'll join us. We are also offering a Bracketed Teams event, where teams will play a round-robin against teams with similar masterpoint holdings.

Looking ahead, our Pittsburgh Regional will be a Bridge Festival for All Levels, offering an opportunity to showcase Pittsburgh as a premier bridge destination and attract players from across the country. We are especially excited that Robert Todd will be hosting three Learn & Play programs for newcomers, beginners, and intermediate players. Your participation, combined with Pittsburgh hospitality, will help ensure that visitors leave with a positive impression and encourage others to attend future Pittsburgh tournaments. For more information about the Regional, see the “Bridge Festival for All” article below.

-- Ron Franck, Unit 142 President

Classes currently ongoing in Mt. Lebanon, Monroeville, Treesdale, Sewickley, and North Hills. Supervised play ongoing in Mt. Lebanon and, Sewickley.

David Loeb and I are launching a program to enable those who have taken the beginner and intermediate classes to continue to play and improve. These will be an online ‘advanced play session’ which will be more convenient to the players and more time-effective for the instructors. It looks like we will be using the ‘Real Bridge’ platform since it offers easy communication with the players. Expect a roll-out over the summer.

-- Bill Holt, Unit 142 VP, Education Chair, Tournament Coordinator

Visit the Lessons Page

Following the success of the recent “Introduction to Bridge” class, the Sewickley YMCA is excited to offer “Bridge – Basic 2 – Competitive Bidding.” It is designed for those who completed the first class and are ready to continue learning their game.

The” Introduction to Bridge” class brought together enthusiastic learners who discovered that bridge is both a fun mental challenge and a wonderful way to build friendships. Led by Bill Holt with the assistance of Marilyn Sittig, Suzy Morgan, Pat Cavalier, Pat Rambasek and Terri Tunick, whose patience, encouragement, and enthusiasm helped create a welcoming environment for every participant. Their combined knowledge and love of the game made learning both enjoyable and accessible.

Sectional Tournament at Clubs Week: June 8-14

Earn silver points at your local clubs. Compete against players across District 5 for large overall awards.

Help fight dementia by playing in Longest Day games June 14-21. Currently, only 4 clubs in Unit 142 are registered to hold Longest Day games:

Punxsutawney: Monday, June 15
Edgeworth: Wednesday, June 17
South Pittsburgh: Wednesday, June 17
Zelienople: Saturday, June 20

We need all clubs to participate. Last year, Unit 142 paid over $9,000 to Club Managers to encourage them to offer special games and excellent hospitality for our members. Please urge your club to do their part to support the Alzheimer's Association.

Clubs can offer 2 North American Pairs games per session in June, July, and August. NAP games offer 50% red points and can qualify you to play in the District 5 NAP Finals in Erie, October 3rd-4th where you can earn an entry to play in the NAP Championship at the Spring NABC in Dallas.

Get ready for the Summer Sectional July 24-26 at the Cranberry Elks Lodge. We have been without team IMP events for the past few years, but I decided to bring them back as a Bracketed Team game, Each team plays a round robin against teams with similar masterpoint holdings, making this a fair and fun event for all.

We really hope to see a nice turn-out for the team game on Sunday - as well as the pairs events on Friday and Saturday.

- Jim Gump, Sectional Chair