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Farthest North Bridge Club
ACBL Unit 426
Contents:
Club information
Special Events 
Unit 426 Summer Sectional 
Bridge elsewhere in Alaska 
Other bridge links
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Special Events Unit 426 Summer Sectional Bridge elsewhere in Alaska Other bridge links
We meet to play duplicate bridge (ACBL-sanctioned open stratified games) in Fairbanks, Alaska, twice a week: Every Tuesday and Friday at 7:00 PM at the North Star Council on Aging's Senior Center, 1424 Moore Street. If you need a partner, phone club manager Ivan Grondin at (907) 457-2720. Card fees are $5 per person, $2.50 for students. Most games are directed by Gordon Bower.
Directions: turn south off Airport Way onto Wilbur Street (near Denny's); take the first right (McCullam St) to the end of the road; turn left onto Moore St; first driveway on the right. Parking in back. Street map showing bridge club location
The Unit also sponsors occasional special events (see below) and supports bridge lessons for beginning and intermediate players in the Fairbanks area.
Unit 426's 2004-2005 Board of Directors was elected on 12 September 2004: Ken Alt, Gordon Bower, Larry Foster, Renee Kappen, and David Williams. Minutes of the 2004 annual meeting are available. The 2005 annual meeting will be on Sunday 18 September.
We enjoy a variety of special events each year:
Golden Days Auction Bridge party - Golden Days is an annual pioneer-heritage festival celebrating the founding of the City of Fairbanks in 1902. We hold an annual session of Auction Bridge, played by century-old rules and wearing century-old costumes, during that same week. To the best of our knowledge, the game on 01 August 2001 was the only occasion in recent history that the American Contract Bridge League (successor to the American Auction Bridge League) sanctioned an auction bridge game and awarded masterpoints to the winners. This year's party was Sunday 24 July 2005 at 1PM, hosted by Patty Meritt.
North American Open Pairs and Annual Membership Meeting: Held annually in late summer, usually the Sunday after Labor Day. In 2005, the NAOP game will be a two-session game with the two sessions on different days: Friday 16 September and Sunday 18 September. Gold points to the overall winners.
Member-Guest Games to introduce social players to duplicate bridge, and Life Master parties each time one of our members gets his gold card, are held on Sundays every few months: Date of next one TBA.
The S.S. Finland Challenge - a privately organized worldwide pairs game, matchpointed across the field. Held annually the last week of October to commemorate the invention of contract bridge; 31 October 1925 is observed as the "birthday of Contract Bridge" (due to a slightly inaccurate claim that the game was invented aboard Harold S. Vanderbilt's yacht which docked in Panama on that date.) The event is coordinated by the directors of the Bridge Laws Mailing List, blml@rgb.anu.edu.au. Fairbanks was one of thirteen sites participating in the inaugural event in 1997; participation has increased every year since then. Contact Herman de Wael for information about next year's event.
The Fifth Friday Trophy Tournaments - an outgrowth of the S.S. Finland game, a worldwide pairs event held in every month that has five Fridays, to promote worldwide harmony and cooperation among bridge players. These special games pioneered internet-aided matchpointing across the field, a format that was adopted by the World Bridge Federation for its worldwide pairs games in 2000. Gordon Bower and Michael Schmahl won the Fifth Friday Trophy for the 2002-2003 season, averaging 61.81% over five games through the year.
STaCs - We always play in the two District-19 wide Sectional Tournaments at Clubs, and award silver points for our regular Tuesday and Friday games these two weeks each year.
We usually participate in the ACBL-wide international fund games, charity games, and so on if our schedule permits us to do so on our regularly scheduled evenings.
Top of pageUnit 426 holds one 4-day-long sectional tournament each year, traditionally the second week of August.
Our tournament has grown rapidly from 46 tables in 2001 to 84 tables in 2004, but retains its friendly small-town atmosphere and its deserved reputation for great hospitality. Results of the 2005 tournament are now available online. The travelling trophy for most masterpoints won during the sectional goes again to Ivan Grondin with 14.25 points.
Our tournament is traditionally a 4-day event, ending on the second Sunday in August. The usual schedule of events: Pairs games at 1PM and 7PM daily on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; two-session round robin teams Sunday. Up to 2003 we held the tournament at the Senior Center, but in 2004 it moved to the upstairs ballroom of the Elks Club, 1003 Pioneer Road, to accommodate the increased attendance.
The 2006 is tentatively planned to once again be held at the Elks Club, one week earlier than its traditional time, 03-06 August.
Winners of previous years' tournaments are also available online: 2004
2003
2002 2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
The state of Alaska has a total of one regional and five sectionals per year, and bridge clubs are active in six cities including Fairbanks.
Some of this information hasn't been verified recently... please email a correction if game times have changed at your club!
