National Tournaments and Competitions

• North American Bridge Championships
  

  The biggest Bridge Tournaments in the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) are the North American Bridge Championships (NABCs). Each year, there are three of these, commonly called the Spring Nationals, Summer Nationals, and Fall Nationals. These tournaments are the ones with the most competitors and the highest Master Point awards for winning or placing in any event. Here's the 2006 schedule:

  2006 NABC Tournament	Location (Link to Tournament)	Dates (Link to Schedule)
  Spring NABC	Dallas, TX	Mar 29-Apr 9
  Summer NABC	Chicago, IL	Jul 12-23
  Fall NABC	Honolulu, HI	Nov 16-26

  None of these tournaments is close to my home, and I do not plan to compete in any of them in 2006; factors of time and cost contribute to this decision. However, it's possible I could win a subsidized trip to the 2006 Summer Nationals, or to the Spring Nationals in 2007. Read on for details!

• Grand National Teams
  

  I could win my way to the Summer Nationals as a District winner in the Grand National Teams (GNT) competition. My district subsidizes its GNT winning teams if they go to the Summer Nationals for the GNT competition there against the winners from the other ACBL Districts. Since World Champions compete in our District, for my best chance to win I should set my sights on a lower tier here, either Flight B (0-2000) or Flight C (0-500, non-Life Master). My best chance to win a trip to the Summer Nationals is to win the Flight C. This will be one obvious exception to the "compete against the best" decision.

• North American Pairs
  

  I could win my way to the 2007 Spring Nationals in St. Louis as a District winner in the North American Pairs (NAP) competition. My district subsidizes its NAP winning pairs if they go to the Spring Nationals for the NAP competition there against the winners from the other ACBL Districts. Again, Flight B or Flight C give me a better chance of winning. A District victory here will add Master Points in my quest for Life Master in 2006, and the trip to the 2007 Spring Nationals, although not relevant to my 2006 goal, is still quite a worthwhile prize! This is the other obvious exception to the "compete against the best" decision.

• Getting Started
  

  For both the GNT and the NAP, I also have the task of finding a partner, and for the teams, teammates. I will be looking for the strongest players at the Flight C level who are still uncommitted. Qualifying is also a necessity.

• Schedule
  

  Here's the schedule for local and District competitions in these two events. I'll track my results in them in this blog as well.

  Event	Dates	distance	note
  GNT Qual	Jan 12	local	(evening)
  GNT Qual	Jan 14	local	(morning or afternoon)
  GNT Qual	Jan 23	local	(evening)
  GNT Qual	Jan 25	local	(evening)
  GNT Qual	Feb 2	local	(evening)
  B/C GNT	Feb 18-19	local	District initial rounds
  B/C GNT	Mar 11-12	local	District Semifinals & Final
  NAP Qual	Jun 8	local	(evening)
  NAP Qual	Jul 13	local	(evening)
  NAP Qual	Jul 27	local	(evening)
  NAP Qual	Aug 24	local	(evening)
  NAP	Oct 7-8	local	District Final