Matchpointer Online
(Serving Tournament Bridge players in A.C.B.L. Unit 430:
Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast)

Special Events at clubs

Events listed in the calendar at the bottom of this page are either club games which are different from the norm in some way, club closures, or outside events which may affect club schedules.  The software that produces this website's pages makes the assumption that active, open clubs will run their regularly scheduled games, unless we have added a special event to the list that overrides them.  We encourage club managers to send us lists of their coming special events regularly so that they can be added to the list.  Such events may include:

• Club events:
• Club Championship Games: These games can be held four times a year by any weekly game and pay extra masterpoints to the winners.  There are also occasional Upgraded Club Championship Games that pay even more points, which can be scheduled by clubs which have recruited ten members to ACBL membership.
• Membership Games: These games also pay extra points, but only to paid up ACBL Members and Life Masters.
• Inter-Club Championship Games: These games are held twice a month on specific sessions (click here for dates and info).  There is an extra charge of $1.00 US per player, but lots of extra chances to win masterpoints! Clubs that sign up receive a package a day or two before the game in e-mail containing the hands and the duplicating sheets.  All clubs play the same deals and the results, when sent to ACBL Headquarters, are matchpointed together.  At the club, players will win masterpoints as though it were a club championship game for their scores within the club.  In addition, all pairs get a second score when matchpointed across the entire field of all clubs that participate: if you are at or near the top of a strat here, you can win some much larger point awards!  Check the link above for complete details.
• Club Appreciation Games: October is Club Appreciation Month in the ACBL.  During October, all clubs may run one Club Appreciation Pairs and one Club Appreciation Teams for each regularly scheduled weekly session.  The masterpoints are at sectional tournament levels but are in black points, except that for the team games a small sliver is in gold points!
• Other Special Club Games: Information on other events, including charity games, international and junior fund games, ACBL-wide games with hand records, and other events, can be found here.
• Unit 430 and District 19 run events:
• Monthly Unit Games: These special games are run once a month, usually on the first Saturday, at the VBC at 7:30.  Go here for the list of dates.  Three times a year, in February, June, and October, these are Swiss Team games, on all other occasions these are pair games.
• Quarterly Mentor-Mentee Team Games: Four times a year, on the afternoon of the January, April, July, and October Monthly Unit Games, the Unit holds a Mentor-Mentee Team Game in the afternoon, starting at 1pm at the VBC.  To pre-register for the game, contact David Dilkes.
• STaC Games: In June, usually during the week before the Penticton Regional, Unit 430 runs a Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) game, open to all clubs in District 19.  Extra masterpoints are paid for these games, and the highest scores in each session pay large overall awards.  The Unit sends out invitations for the STaC game to all clubs in the spring each year.  (ALERT: STaC games run by the Western Conference are sometimes run by local clubs, but Unit 430 and District 19 are NOT members of the Western Conference.  These large, multi-District STaCs do not benefit Unit 430 or District 19.)
• NABC Promotion Week: The Fall 2011 NABC will be in Seattle and we hear word that there may be a week of promotional club games sometime in 2011, but I have not been able to find dates or details.
• CBF (Canadian Bridge Federation) Multi-Level and Special Events:
• Rookie-Master Games: The CBF runs two such events each year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall.  Each partnership must have at least one member under 50 masterpoints.  Participating clubs play the same deals and hand analysis sheets are available to players at the end.
• Canada-wide Olympiad Fund Game: A special game held twice a year to support Canadian teams playing in international events.  Participating clubs play the same deals and hand analysis sheets are available to players at the end.
• COPC Qualifying Games: The Canadian Open Pairs Championship is contested at the Canadian Bridge Championships each year in the late spring.  Buy-in is $100 if a pair has not qualified at one of the club qualifying games held between September and December each year.  These games pay increased masterpoints and some red points.
• CNTC Qualifying Games: The Canadian National Team Championships is also contested at the Canadian Bridge Championships each year.  Club qualifying team games are stratified and the national championships are run in two flights, one for teams of players under 2500 MP.  These games pay increased masterpoints and some red points.
• ACBL Multi-Level Events:
• Grand National Teams: This team event has four flights and three stages.  Stage One is club qualifying games from September thru March each year.  These games pay extra masterpoints and can be stratified.   Stage Two is the District Final in the spring and Stage Three is the National Final at the Summer NABC each year. Click here for complete details.
• North American Pairs: This pairs event has three flights and three stages.  Stage One is club qualifying, which takes place in June, July and August.  These games pay extra masterpoints and can be stratified.   Stage Two is the District Final in the late fall and Stage Three is the National Final at the Spring NABC each year. Click here for complete details.