[PrinceNep]

Free Junior Midnight Zip KOs at the 2013 Spring NABC in St. Louis

What: Free Junior Midnight Zip KOs
Where: 2013 Spring NABC in St. Louis
When: Saturday, March 16
Time: 11:30 pm

Had enough of serious bridge for one day? Grab your friends and kick back over a casual Midnight Zip KO before crashing in your hotel room.

Wait, some of you have never played in a Midnight Zip KO before? It's, like, all the best parts of bridge. Here's the low down: 6 board matches, 5 minutes a board. Winners move on to the next round. It's fast and fun, and oh by the way, you can still win masterpoints. You should totally play with someone you've never played with before, or try a new bidding system.

Partners and teams are guaranteed, so if you can't talk your friends into it, there will still be other cool players to play with. There will be free drinks and snacks all night, so even if you get knocked out, you can grab some munchies and watch the winners go head to head.

This event will be open to players 25 and younger, and starts at 11:30 pm. Why 11:30 pm when it is called Midnight Zip KO? Good question! But you'll be playing well past midnight anyway … so the earlier we can get it started the better. I mean, you still have to play bridge the next day, right?

Just next door will be the Open Midnight Zip KOs, for anyone 26 and older … so even your parents or older friends can play while you hang out with us. It's Saturday night, so what's wrong with staying up late for some fun, not-so-serious bridge?

See ya there!

[debrose]

Sounds like a blast. Wish I were going to be in St. Louis........... oh yes, and that I were still eligible. Have fun!

[JLOGIC]

Let me just say that some of my favorite times in the nationals have been in the midnight games. They're a lot of fun because they're not that serious and you get to meet peers and have fun and see some amazing hands lol. Afterwards there is almost always a few groups of people playing random card games or more non-serious bridge. It is the best social gathering for a junior player possible.

I am now 26 so I don't qualify but maybe I'll stop by and they'll let me play on a team. See you guys there.

[chasetb]

I love the idea of a Junior Midnight Zip KO, but I think it should be expanded to U-28, for the simple reasons that it allows a few more people to play (like Justin), and that the WBF has a U-28 tourney, so it isn't unheard of. If I could make another suggestion, I would also allow any star to play, provided they were the only WC player on a team. After all, I'm sure any Junior would love to play with or against one; I know I would love to defend a contract Pepsi was playing, just as an example.

I know I'll be there, and I am looking for teammates and possibly a partner. Justin, congrats on hitting 5k posts, and I look forward to meeting you. I did get to talk to you back in Memphis on the final Sunday night, but that was just a passing comment.

[JLOGIC]

Look forward to seeing you there.

I don't know if I can accept congratulations on 5k posts since I probably have ~19k posts on all my names lol. Hard to tell since I lost them all, but I definitely had >11k on jlall when I was about to pass inquiry, then I switched to phantomsac, then jlol, then jlogic, which I I have like 6500 on, and I also made some more posts on jlall. Maybe time for a name change again soon

[lalldonn]

I love this idea but I wish each partnership just needed one junior. Partly I'm greedy and want to play, but it would also be bigger, and I trust the juniors to pick a fun partner.

[JLOGIC]

TBH I cannot imagine them being sticklers about it. Jdonn if you went and played with a team of juniors there is no way they'd turn you away. They might ask you to pay whatever the normal midnight rate is ($3 a match still? lol), but whatever, I wouldn't feel right not paying anyways.

I'm sure the spirit of it is for it to be a fun event for juniors that does not have old fogeys who are trying to win points in the midnights telling everyone to be quiet or play slower lol. Having a 30 year old 2 time national champ who is trying to help support the junior program and help the event run is not something any of the directors is going to try to stop.

[daveharty]

 chasetb, on 2013-January-15, 15:02, said:

I think it should be expanded to U-28

Any chance of expanding it to U-45? I'm young at heart.

[PrinceNep]

Thanks for the endorsement, Lall, Debbie, Donn, Chase and Dave.

As for letting "stars" play, I can certainly keep that in mind for the future. Since this is the first time we are trying this event, we need to determine the general success of it. Perhaps in the Fall, we can try an event where each pair must contain at least one player 25 or younger.

Unfortunately, I don't have control over the age boundary. However, the ACBL allows the addition of pairs/teams, who would otherwise not be qualified for the event, to help fill in "awkward movements". The worst case scenario, the regular Midnight KOs are in the same room ... so socializing between rounds (which last about 15 minutes anyway?) will still be easy.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Phil]

 daveharty, on 2013-January-15, 17:34, said:

Any chance of expanding it to U-45? I'm young at heart.

You must consume one shot for every five years over the age limit in order to qualify.

[pigpenz]

Some of the best zip swiss was when they used yo have free beer......Des Moines, IA 1981 Barry Crane was playing against this elderly couple who seemed like they haf just parked their massey ferguson tractor outside....Barry got doubled for -800...at end of hand old farmer guy said "I dont know who younare but you played that hand almost as good as my wife does"......kibbers broke out laughing and left

[chasetb]

The reception wasn't too bad - they ended up combining the Juniors with the regular knockout, but it was a blast. I'm a little disappointed that Justin didn't show up, but I already talked to him on Friday, so it's all good. Also, I think a Strong Pass with a 1♣ or 1♦ fert should be allowed in Super Chart, it's not that bad to play against and it was fun as hell to play last night.

[Zelandakh]

I would say that a strong pass with 1♣ fert should be allowed at Midchart. It is no more difficult to defend against than standard methods.

[GreenMan]

I love the midnight zips, and I've always had the most fun when juniors are at the table. One great aspect is the "You never know who you'll see" factor, such as when Matt Meckstroth recruited his dad to make up a team. Sorry I couldn't be there this time around.