Bridge Club

The Bridge Club is a group of students interested in learning, teaching, and playing the card game of bridge.

History

As the game itself has fallen greatly in its popularity among the general population, especially among those younger than 60, so too has the club experienced spikes and valleys in its membership at Williams. By Spring 2002, the club was meeting in the form only of a few Odd Quadders who got together to play and teach their friends, but did not advertise meetings or have a listserver. Jason Carini '02 was the last player then to have experienced an active club, and was technically the president of the defunct organization.

Jason passed the leadership of the club to Alaya Kuntz '04, who gathered a list of the names and email addresses of known players and people interested in learning on campus. Brent Yorgey '04 created a listserver of these people and started a regular social bridge game night in the northern common room on Currier's third floor, and Jonathan Landsman later started a tradition of writing the weekly summons to bridge in humorous styles. Attendance ranged from about 4 to 8, one or two tables, each week.

2003-4 the official club leadership passed to Jonathan, who lived in Currier third floor that year and kept the meetings in the same common room. Attendance increased markedly in the fall largely due to the game's popularity among a group of students on campus to work there the previous summer, when a lot of new players, particularly '05s, were taught.

This school year two notable events in the Bridge Club's history occurred: During Winter Study '04, Matthew Spencer '05 had the idea to teach bridge as a Free University class. The class was surprisingly popular: sessions were held in the hour before the weekly social bridge night, so that at the end of class experienced players would arrive and give new players the opportunity to try what they had learned in real games. As many as a half dozen students showed for the beginning classes, and at times bridge filled both the north and south common rooms, with over 20 people playing.

At the end of Winter Study, bridge club held its first duplicate bridge tournament in recent history, using equipment

, and advertised it to all players in the area, on and off campus. It drew 12 partnerships, including 22 students and Professors Morgan and Muench. Daniel Krass '05 and Professor Morgan won the tournament.