The 2009 Round-Up Sectional will take placeat the Queensborough Community Centre (920 Ewen Ave., New Westminster/Queensborough) from November 12-14.  The Queensborough site is a very centrally-located site for Lower Mainland players and we hope for increased participation from the fast-growing population centres of Surrey and Delta.

One important change from last year is the 10:00 am start time for all final day Swiss Teams.  Another important change for all 2010 tournaments is that strats in all open events (not 0-200 games) will be based on the average masterpoints of a pair or team, instead of the masterpoints of the highest-ranked player.

NOTE: This summary is being written in December 2009, and the tournament schedule has been approved by the ACBL.  However, with a new Unit Board to be elected in mid-2010, we may have new contacts, and the entry fees for the second half of 2010 may be adjusted.

Event Schedule:

Driving Directions to Queensborough Community Centre: Three general driving routes: over the Queensborough Bridge, or over the Alex Fraser, or via Hwy 91 from Richmond.  All three need to be aware (especially if you have not been to Queensborough in a while) that the overpass just south of the Queensborough bridge has been completed, and it goes right over the intersection that we used to turn off the highway to get to the site.  The strategy now is to look carefully (coming from New Westminster) for signs for the Howes St. exit (the first of these is actually on the bridge) as you go south over the Queenborough Bridge, OR (coming from Surrey or Richmond) as you round the bend onto Highway 91A from Highway 91.   Going over the Queensborough Bridge (on Marine Way near 20th St.) you'll go over the bridge in the right lane, take the first exit (Howes St.) and turn LEFT at the intersection, under the highway.  From the Alex Fraser, continue past Annacis Island on Highway 91A towards New Westminster (be sure NOT to take the Hwy 91 exit towards Richmond!), and look for signs for the Howes St. exit, the last exit before the Queensborough Bridge; turn RIGHT at the Howes St. intersection under the highway.  From Richmond, take Hwy. 91 east, turn off at the exit to Hwy 91A towards New Westminster and look for the Howes St. exit, the last exit before the Queensborough Bridge; turn RIGHT at the Howes St. intersection under the highway.  All three routes get you onto Howes St., and a LEFT at Ewen Ave. about a block on, will leave you about a block from the Community Centre, which will appear on the right hand side.

ALERT: traffic patterns on the New Westminster side of the Queensborough Bridge have changed.  When you leave the site and go back over the Queensborough Bridge to New Westminster, there is no longer an option to get onto 20th St. from Marine Way: if you exit the bridge towards the New Westminster waterfront, you won't be able to leave Marine Way/Stewardson Way until you are close to the New Westminster SkyTrain station.  Going southwest onto Marine Way from the bridge is pretty much unchanged from before.

By Transit:  The #104 bus from 22nd Ave. SkyTrain station takes you very close to the site, stopping within half a block.  The #410 or #340 also get fairly close, but turn the other way on Ewen Ave, so you need to get off after they go under the highway.  From 22nd Ave. Station the trip takes about 10 minutes.  The stop to catch the #104 back to the 22nd Ave. SkyTrain station is on Howes St.  You can also catch the #410 bus from Richmond at this stop.  The stop for the #340 from Scottsdale Mall is near the onramp to the Quuensborough Bridge.  Check Google Transit for schedule details.

Nearby Restaurants/Shopping: The new shopping centre on the other side of the highway contains several restaurants, and there are many restaurants in New Westminster, a short drive away (but see the alert above).  A short distance away is the new Starlight casino, with several restaurants.  Getting to the casino is a bit tricky: go under the highway on Howes St towards the shopping centre, then turn LEFT onto Westminster Hwy (a right turn will put you on Boyd St.) just before you enter the shopping area.  A RIGHT at Gifford St. will take you into the casino parking lot.