Fifth Chair Foundation
Dawn Charles
FIFTH CHAIR FOUNDATION ADOPTS NOVICE CAUSE
The Fifth Chair Foundation is an international non-profit organization
dedicated to fostering bridge education on the internet and attracting new
players to a game which has challenged, intrigued and entertained
people since the early 1500's when it was known as whist in England.
Unlike the 1500’s, however, players today need travel no further than
their home computer to enjoy and learn this great game.
The internet is today’s hot medium...just as the town crier, radio, telephone,
and television were the media of note in days past. Attracting a new, young,
generation of players to bridge must be accomplished through the media
of their choice - the Internet!
IT BEGAN WITH A CRY FOR HELP
Organized in 1996 by four online bridge players following a floundering
novice’s plea for help, the Foundation now administers a substantial -
and growing - education program on one internet bridge playing service,
OKBridge, and hopes to expand to others in 1998.
It is important to note that the Fifth Chair Foundation is an entirely
volunteer effort. There are no employees, no stipends, no monetary
reward of any sort for our volunteers or board members.
Current Fifth Chair programs on OKBridge include:
Mentoring Program: Since January 1996, our official novice Mom,
Marcia West, an advanced player from Mercer Island, WA, has
arranged the "adoption" of more than 300 novice players by more
experienced bridgers. These volunteer mentors agree to play weekly
with their adopted novice and answer questions via email. To inquire
about participation in this program, either as a novice or mentor,
email tarsh@aa.net
Mentor/Novice Tournaments: Monthly tournaments give the mentor/novice
partners a chance to flex their skills in a competitive environment. OKBridge
provides an ACBL certified director, Tony Reus, an expert player from
Montreal, Canada, and OKBridge’s Club Manager, for these popular
events (schedule);
Fifth Chair sessions: A schedule of daily hour-long sessions during
which a line-up of volunteer expert-level player comments about ongoing
bid and play and responds to questions; Sessions are geared towards the
intermediate player, but novices are encouraged to attend, too. Questions
are encouraged. All times are pacific.
Monday thru Friday: 9 a.m.
Tuesday 4 p.m.
Wednesday 7 a.m.
Moderators of these sessions are:
chips/Gloria Kessler, Monday and Wednesday at 9 am
raptor/Peter Bambrick, Tuesday at 9 am
franks/Frank Stewart, Thursday at 9 am
vatter/Dick Vatter, Friday at 9 am
canuck/Aidan Ballentyne, Tuesday at 4 p.m.
otto/Otto Adamac, Wednesday at 7 am
Novice/Intermediate Team Games:
SAYC - Saturday morning (8 am pacific) and Monday evening (5 p.m. pacific)
sessions with all-novice players and an expert commentator at each team table
offering pointers aftereach hand and a written analysis via email afterwards;
2/1 - Saturday, 3 p.m. pacific.
Bidding Practice: This is practice bidding only - NO PLAY.
Sessions are geared towards the novice player.
SAYC - Thursday, 4 p.m. pacific;
2/1 - Tuesday, 3 p.m. pacific and Thursday, 6 p.m. pacific.
Learning List: An email discussion group, available free to any OKBridge
member, devoted entirely to learning issues.
GOODIES FOR LEARNERS AT www.fifthchair.org
But the Foundation's help is not confined to OKBridge. Any bridge learner
will find a variety of free, helpful materials on the Foundation's website at
www.fifthchair.org, including:
Bridge School - an ongoing set of beginner/novice level SAYC lessons
written by Foundation board member, Tom Douglas of Rochester, NY, in
straightforward, layman’s language. These lessons include follow-up
quizzes so that a learner can test herself and re-take the lesson if necessary;
Jargon Jungle - an extensive bridge glossary to help learners wade through
all the bridgese;
Bulletin Boards - to help find a partner or mentor;
Bobby Goldman’s Winners and Losers at Bridge-this world renown
Grand Master and professional bridge player has given the Foundation
permission to reproduce his book, offering learners and experienced
players alike a chance to do a bridge attitude check;
Link Land - links to other bridge sites with information of interest to learners;
Book Shelf - a list of bridge books, rated by skill level; and,
Ask Anything - a place where a novice can immediately email a
bridge question or problem and get a response from an advanced player,
Conny DeLisle of British Columbia.
WHAT’S NEXT?
For the future, the Foundation’s plans are ambitious. Thanks to a grant
from the ACBL’s Education Foundation, a recently purchased server
will allow the opening of an Internet Bridge School during 1999.
Bridge teachers and their students will then have a place on the internet
to conduct classes. Long-term goals include fostering the establishment
of bridge clubs on high school and college campuses.
WHO ARE WE?
The Fifth Chair Foundation Board of Directors presently consists of
seven individuals, six of whom are bridge devotees (and we’re working
on the seventh!):
Founder - Bob Bakalish (President, expert; Eureka, California)
Founder - Marcia West (Vice-President, advanced, aka official novice MOM;
Mercer Island, Washington)
Founder - John Hengeveld (advanced; Aloha, Oregon)
Founder - Dawn Charles (the original floundering novice and official
Foundation guinea pig; Nashville, Tennessee)
Tom Douglas (Intermediate; Rochester, New York)
Lynn Berg (Advanced, bridge teacher; Leland, Florida)
Martin Levine (our non-bridger and positively underpaid accountant;
Ashland, Oregon).
YOU CAN HELP!
Like any non-profit organization, the Fifth Chair Foundation is dependent
on the generosity of people who care about the cause. If you would like
to help the Fifth Chair Foundation attract a new generation of players to
the game of bridge, please make a tax-deductible (in USA) contribution.
Send checks or money orders, made out to Fifth Chair Foundation, to:
Marcia West, Treasurer
Fifth Chair Foundation
4655 90th Ave., SE
Mercer Island, WA. 98040-4431.
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NOTE: About Our Name - When a fifth chair is pulled up to a bridge table,
it means someone is kibitzing - watching - and learning! We chose the name
"Fifth Chair Foundation" in honor of the kibitzer - the learner.
Media inquiries/questions may be emailed to
The Fifth Chair Foundation at info@okbridge.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dawn Charles
dcharles@edge.net
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