Better Bridge in Barry County
By Gerald Stein
Last week’s bridge column listed the bridge classes that were available in Barry County and surrounding areas. These classes will be starting in the next few weeks. With classes offered in Hastings, Battle Creek, and Kalamazoo, all bridge players who are interested have only a short drive to learn new methods and conventions to improve their bridge game. This week we intend to look at places in Barry County and surrounding areas where avid bridge players can play as much as they want. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of known places in Barry County at this time, but hopefully that will change in the future. Here is what we have so far.
In Hastings, a weekly game is held each Tuesday night at the Pennock Village Community Center at 6:30 PM. Run by Director Audrey Burdick, this game is a mixed social bridge group with a range of players from beginners to advanced status. With four to seven tables depending on the night or the season, players have a chance to compete with others in a fun and comfortable setting. Three rounds of bridge with six hands per round make this a fun evening. According to Audrey, “This is a fun group. They all enjoy getting together and playing bridge.” If interested in finding out more about their game and their location, call Director Audrey at 269-945-2451.
In Richland, down M-43 about 20 miles south of Hastings, is the Richland Area Community Center at 9400 East CD Avenue. A social bridge game is offered at this new and comfortable facility each Monday afternoon from 12:30-3:30. If interested in learning more about this bridge game by taking a short drive down M-43, call the Richland Area Community Center at 269-629-9430. If you wish, you can visit their website at www.richlandareacc.org for other programs, including book discussion clubs, yoga, and dancing classes.
In Kalamazoo, a bit further down the road, there are two bridge sites to consider. Both are duplicate bridge game sites: The Mini Romans Duplicate Club meets at the Main Street Grill, 5463 Gull Road, Suite 6, near the corner of Gull Road and Sprinkle Road in Kalamazoo. There are three games per week at the Mini Romans: Wednesdays at noon, an open and stratified game; Fridays at 11:00 AM, also an open and stratified game, and Sundays at 12:30 PM, an open and stratified game as well. Call Director David Shafer at 269-365-2936 for more information, including fees, directions, and partnerships.
The other Kalamazoo bridge club is located at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center, 648 Maple Hill Drive, Kalamazoo. With nine different playing times throughout the week, it is easy to see that this is the largest duplicate bridge club around. The range of games is varied with open games, beginner games, and games in-between. The latest addition to their club line-up is the new beginner game on Friday nights, starting September 28, with a free pizza and salad and free play as an introductory class to playing duplicate bridge. This will be a fun evening for both social bridge players and those who want to look into duplicate-style bridge playing. Contact Directors Alan and Brenda Bau at 269-9299, or visit the Kalamazoo Bridge Center website for lots of information about games, bridge classes, tournaments, and more: www.kzoobridge.com
In Battle Creek, the Battle Creek Duplicate Bridge Club, located at Burnham Brook Center, 200 West Michigan Avenue, meets on Mondays at 11:00 AM. The game is an open duplicate game with non-smoking, handicap accessible, and stratified levels of play. For more information, contact Director JoAnn Cornell at 269-323-1133.
In Lansing, there is a new website that is worth looking at: http://www.lansingbridgecenter.org I was pleasantly surprised by their new and easy-to-navigate site. The Lansing Bridge Center offers duplicate games on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays for beginners through advanced players. Located at 325 N. Clippert Street, across from Frandor Mall, the Lansing Bridge club just recently hosted the District 12 Regional Tournament in Lansing with seven days of tournament-style duplicate bridge sessions. A feature that not all clubs have is a bridge library. Lansing Bridge Club has a bridge library as does the Kalamazoo Bridge Club in Kalamazoo. Members may check out what is available and return with a wealth of bridge ideas.
In Grand Rapids, there are also numerous times and places to play duplicate bridge: weekly for Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays once a month. Grand Rapids Bridge Club is a close second to Kalamazoo Bridge Center in offering multiple duplicate bridge games per week. For more information, contact Director Joanne Molt at 616-957-5035. Visit their website for times, places, and interesting comments from players: http://www.westmichiganbridge.com/
While most of the featured clubs in this week’s column are duplicate clubs, there is much to look at by touring their websites. Links to other bridge sites are often offered as well as commentary from directors and/or players. Look around our area to see what a wide variety of bridge playing sites are available. Check out our area, and if you find a spot to play your variety of bridge and you want to advertise it, contact the Editor of the Banner. If there are additional sites and places to play bridge in Barry County, we will try to include in future columns those places for Barry County bridge players to play bridge and have fun.
Gerald Stein
September 12, 2012 Number of words: 911
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