American Contract Bridge League Multi-Level Events

Multi-level events run by the ACBL are:

• GNT - Grand National Teams.  This is an teams event with four flights and three stages.  The Championship Flight is unlimited; Flight A is for players under 5000 masterpoints, Flight B is for players under 2000 masterpoints, and Flight C is for non-Life Masters up to 500 masterpoints.  The event begins with a club qualifying stage in the fall and early spring.  Teams who qualify at that level can play in the District Final, usually held in Seattle or Vancouver in April.  The top team in each flight represents District 19 at the National Final, held at the Summer North American Bridge Championships.
• NAP - North American Pairs.  This is a pairs event with three flights and four stages.  Flight A is unlimited, Flight B is for players under 2000 masterpoints, Flight C is for non Life Masters under 500 masterpoints.  The first stage is the popular Club Qualifying stage, which takes place each summer on club-selected dates from June 1 thru August 31.  The next stage is the Unit Final, held in early Fall, usually at the Vancouver Bridge Centre.  Qualifying pairs then move on to the District Final, usually held at a November or December sectional in Vancouver or Seattle.  The top three pairs in each flight at the District Final are invited to participate (with varying levels of ACBL funding) in the National Final, held at the Spring North American Bridge Championships.

There are many other events that the ACBL runs each year: 49er pairs, Senior Pairs, Charity Games, Instant Matchpoint Games, International and Junior Fund Games, Inter-Club Championship Games, and the ACBL is a participant in the annual World-Wide Pairs game in June.  The ACBL also publishes The Bridge Bulletin, the ACBL web page, and has a very active charity program.

The Grand National Teams District 19 Finals were held in Everett April 5-6.

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT - 4 Teams
1. Pat Dunn - Jim Aitken - Ray Loftis, Bellevue WA; Ken Christiansen, Bothell WA
2. Michael Hargreaves - Doug Fraser, Victoria BC; Aidan Ballantyne, Burnaby BC; Cameron Doner, Richmond BC

FLIGHT A (0-5000 MP) 2 Teams
1. Dave Grubbs, Seattle WA; Steve Handley, Edmonds WA; Mike Wilson, New Westminster BC; Howard Epley, Kent WA; Alan Epley, Bellevue WA

FLIGHT B (0-2000 MP) 8 Teams
1. Pat White, Bothell WA; Cristal Nell, Woodinville WA; Adam Ruprecht, Seattle WA; Jeff Ford, Redmond WA
2. Bob Seki, Seattle WA; Drew Hoskins - Min Zheng - Fan Zhang, Redmond WA
3/4. Jingsong Liu, Kirkland WA; Yong Cao, Redmond WA; Wenjie Deng, Mercer Island WA; Dong Yan, Sammamish WA
3/4. Angela Fenton, North Vancouver BC; Zoran Peca, Vancouver BC; Andrew Lee, Richmond BC; Jadwiga Polujan, Port Coquitlam BC

FLIGHT C (0-500 MP, non-LM) 4 Teams
1. Long Xie - Joan Tang - Roy Li, Burnaby BC; Baixiang Liu - David Hu, Vancouver BC; Jeffrey Ren, Richmond BC

Winning teams in all four flights receive a US$1400 grant from District Nineteen to attend the National Final, held at the Summer NABC, this year in Las Vegas NV, July 17-27.  Good luck!