Dawn

Greetings all! I am on the Fifth Chair Board of Directors and in response to the posts here let me tell you that there is a distinct lack of mentors at present. We simply are not getting mentor volunteers of late. Also, occasionally in the past, we have had mentor volunteers whom we have been unable to place with a novice for various reasons - time zones, odd systems, past complaints, etc... But this is not typical. I receive the emails requesting mentors, and reply promptly to each....even if it's only to say that they will be added to the waiting list....quite a long one at this point. Our experience on BBO has been quite different than on OKbridge and eBridge, where we have similar programs. The first mentoring program originated on OKbridge and we initially had more mentor volunteers than novices requesting help at first. (Oh how I would LOVE to have that problem on BBO.) In fact, since BBO took the news box down (the one that used to appear when you first logged in, and on which we had an announcement about this program) we have had only two BBO mentor volunteers. This is a change in BBO's fundamental presentation, and we can't do anything about that. Perhaps I could make a few suggestions: 1. Do not restrict your request. For example, I have a request at present in which the novice says they can only play between 2 and 4 pm on Wednesdays, etc... Another who wants a male mentor, age 55-60, etc... These novices will not likely get a mentor because of the restrictive nature of the request. 2. Use the Fifth Chair website to make your request as the form mandates certain information we need to process the request. The URL is: http://www.fifthchair.org/bbolearn.htm 3. If you know an advanced player who might be willing to help a novice, please refer them to the information on our website about the program at: http://www.fifthchair.org/programs.htm#Mentoring In the meantime, those of you who are learning will find some wonderful free resources on our website designed to help your efforts: * Ask Anything (http://www.fifthchair.org/askany.htm): Pose a bridge question to our resident expert and get a response usually within 24 hours * Bridge School (http://www.fifthchair.org/school/): A series of SAYC lessons designed to get you started with this system * Bridge Archive (http://www.fifthchair.org/archive/): A collection of write-ups about various conventions, defense, declarer play and system notes, etc... * Bridge Jargon (http://www.fifthchair.org/jargon/jargon_a.htm): A glossary of bridge terms and definitions. Lastly, I do not monitor the Forums regularly so sorry for the delay in responding to these posts. If you have a specific question, it's quicker to write to me directly at bbo@fifthchair.org. Thanks, Dawn

Greetings, Advanced- and Expert-level volunteers are needed to mentor beginning and novice players in Fifth Chair's BBO Mentoring Program. For more information on this program, go to http://www.fifthchair.org/programs.htm#Mentoring. To sign up to be a mentor, go to http://www.fifthchair.org/bboment.htm. At this time we have a long waiting list of learners waiting for mentors. Please help introduce a new generation of players to this game we love. Thanks! Dawn www.fifthchair.org bbo@fifthchair.org

Hi ! The Fifth Chair Foundation's Mentoring Program on BBO is in need of volunteer mentors for beginning, novice and intermediate- players. For information about this program, please visit our website at http://www.fifthchair.org/programs.htm#Mentoring. We presently have a waiting list of BBO learners needing mentors! To volunteer, go to this URL: http://www.fifthchair.org/bboment.htm Dawn :)

Hi Folks, I'm with the Fifth Chair Foundation, www.fifthchair.org, and on another bridge service we sponsor instructional team games several times a week. In this format, a team game is formed with novice-beginner-intermediate level players and at each table there is an advanced or expert commentator. Between hands the commentator discusses the bidding and play of the hand, pointing out errors as well as good plays. Kibbies are welcome and may ask questions as well as the players. We offer instructional team games in SAYC and 2/1 on this other service. There is usually a time limit on these games of 90 minutes for the sake of the commentators. QUESTION: Would this be of interest among the learning community on BBO? And, if it is, who among the advanced/expert community would be willing to serve as commentators? Dawn

Ask a bridge expert any bridge question via The Fifth Chair Foundation's website at http://www.fifthchair.org/askany.htm. This is your chance to get another opinion on that tough hand or find out about unusual conventions, etc... Responses typically arrive via email within 24 hours. There is never any charge for Fifth Chair's services, it's all FREE on our website at www.fifthchair.org!

The Fifth Chair Foundation would be glad to sponsor regularly scheduled tournaments on BBO for beginning, novice and intermediate- players if we can find some volunteer assistants. Is there anybody out there, with tournament hosting experience, who would be willing to help? We already sponsor Mentor/novice tournaments on another bridge service so we've got some experience in this arena! Let me know if you can help out! - dawn

Got a bridge question? Ask an EXPERT via Fifth Chair's free Ask Anything service at http://www.fifthchair.org/askany.htm. Answers are typically delivered via email within 24 hours.

The Fifth Chair Foundation has recently revised its website at www.fifthchair.org! There are lots of free materials for learners and everyone is welcome! Check it out today!

BBO teams up with The Fifth Chair Foundation to offer mentoring program! What is The Fifth Chair Foundation?: Fifth Chair is a non-for-profit organization that fosters online bridge education. Please visit our website at http://www.fifthchair.org for additional information and lots of useful tools for learners! What is the Fifth Chair's Mentoring Program? Fifth Chair's Mentoring Program matches volunteer advanced players with learners who are eager for help to improve their game. What is a Program Manager? A Fifth Chair Program Manager is a dedicated volunteer with the time, skills and energy to devote to organizing a specific program on an online bridge playing service. At this time Fifth Chair is seeking a one or two Program Managers to start a Mentoring Program on BBO. A Fifth Chair board member, Dawn Charles (Dawn on BBO) has been assigned to act as liaison with the managers and help them get the program up-and-running. Patience, tact and good organizational skills are key characteristics of a successful Program Manager. These are long-term positions and record-keeping is important. If you are interested in being a volunteer Mentoring Program Manager, please e-mail BBO@fifthchair.org with the following information (put "Program Manager-Your BBO ID" in the subject line): 1. Full name 2. Organizational skills: 3. Average time you could allot weekly to the program: 4. Why do you want to do this?: 5. Your BBO ID: What is a Mentor? Mentors are advanced players willing to donate their time back to the game they love to help bring a new generation into the game of bridge. Mentors agree to play at least one one-hour learning session with their adopted learner per week (an average); answer questions via e-mail; and generally support their learner's bridge education process. Experience, patience, interest and humor are important characteristics of the successful mentor. When mentors receive their assigned learner, they will also get a list of suggestions and guidelines about mentoring. Fifth Chair places beginners, novices and Intermediate- players with mentors. A mentor waiting list is presently being compiled. If you would like to apply to be a mentor, please e-mail the following information to BBO@fifthchair.org (put "MENTOR-Your BBO ID" in the subject line): 1. Your Time Zone: 2. Systems with which you are comfortable: 3. Your level of play: 4. Comments about preferences: 5. Your BBO ID: 6. Your Name: What is a Novice? For the purposes of this program, a novice is a beginning, novice or intermediate- level player who is interested in improving their game by working with a more advanced player. (See description of Mentor.) Participating novices agree to be prompt for scheduled sessions and respectful of their Mentor's time; do any assigned homework; and, keep their sense of humor intact! A novice waiting list is presently being compiled. If you would like to apply for a mentor, please e-mail the following information to BBO@fifthchair.org (put "NOVICE-Your BBO ID" in the subject line): 1. Your Time Zone: 2. System you want to learn: 3. Current level of play: 4. Comments about preferences: 5. Your BBO ID: 6. Your Name: NOTE: Fifth Chair does not give out participants' names or e-mail addresses to any individual or organization. Neither Fifth Chair nor BBO assumes any liability from this voluntary program and encourages all participants to use caution in giving out personal information on the Internet. (skrshawk: edited per Dawn's request)

Fifth Chair Foundation is starting a new 1:1 mentoring program on BBO! What is a Mentor? Mentors are advanced players willing to donate their time back to the game they love to help bring a new generation into the game of bridge. Mentors agree to play at least one one-hour learning session with their adopted learner per week (an average); answer questions via e-mail; and generally support their learner's bridge education process. Experience, patience, interest and humor are important characteristics of the successful mentor. When mentors receive their assigned learner, they will also get a list of suggestions and guidelines about mentoring. Fifth Chair places beginners, novices and Intermediate- players with mentors. A mentor waiting list is presently being compiled. If you would like to apply to be a mentor, please e-mail the following information to BBO@fifthchair.org (put "MENTOR-Your BBO ID" in the subject line): 1. Your Time Zone: 2. Systems with which you are comfortable: 3. Your level of play: 4. Comments about preferences: 5. Your BBO ID: 6. Your Name: (skrshawk: Edited per Dawn's request)