Members of a local bridge club hope to reverse declining numbers of people who play the game.
If you've ever wanted to learn how to play bridge, now's the perfect time.
Members of the Lawrence Duplicate Bridge Club are eager to initiate beginners into the game -- and to introduce bridge to younger generations.
"Most communities are losing bridge players, and we want to reinvigorate the game in this area," said Eldon Herd, president of the club.
"It concerns us that young people aren't being exposed to bridge. They're missing a great opportunity. We want to expose them to it, and they can see whether they like it or not."
To introduce duplicate bridge to a wider audience in town, the club is offering six weeks of free introductory lessons and games. The first Wednesday session will be held from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vt.
The club's experienced members meet regularly to play duplicate bridge from 6:45 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays at the center. Twelve tables of players -- that's 24 pairs -- attended the club's session Aug. 30.
Duplicate bridge is a form of the game in which each hand is played by several different pairs of players. All the players are then judged by how well they played the hand.
"An advantage that duplicate bridge has over party bridge is that you can play all night, even if you keep getting bad hands. It all depends on how well you play it," Herd said.
He'll use a method called "EasyBridge!" to teach beginners how to play the game.
It's the easiest and most fun way to help newcomers understand the basics of bridge, he said.
"EasyBridge!" books won the American Bridge Teacher's Assn.'s 1998 Book of the Year Award, and Herd is a certified "EasyBridge!" teacher.
He's also president of the Northeast Kansas unit of the American Contract Bridge League. His region stretches from Manhattan to Leavenworth.
"'EasyBridge!' is a whole new concept -- it gets you into playing bridge the first night," said Glenna Herd, Eldon's wife and bridge partner of 44 years.
Folks who come to the first lesson should be up and running, ready to play bridge, within two hours.
To find out about this teaching method in advance of the free lessons, you can visit the Web site at www.easybridge.com.
Local bridge club members are concerned the pool of bridge players has been shrinking in recent years. They hope the Wednesday night lessons help change that in Lawrence.
"Bridge has really been dying out in the last couple of decades. Young people aren't playing," said Virginia Seaver, a longtime member.
"But I don't believe there's any partnership game that's ever been invented that even comes close to bridge. There's an infinite variety of possible deals and bidding sequences."
A director, someone who can answer questions from players during the course of a hand, is needed for duplicate bridge.
Seaver's a certified American Contract Bridge League director in Lawrence.
"We want young people to play. We hope it (the Wednesday sessions) will attract people of all ages," Glenna Herd said.
The age range of the club's Monday night players is 40 to 85.
The best reason to learn bridge, club members say, is it's a great way to socialize and make new friends.
"It's the way we've met people all over the country," Glenna Herd said.
"And this is the friendliest bridge club I've ever seen," her husband added.
-- Jim Baker's phone message number is 832-7173. His e-mail address is jbaker@ljworld.com.
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