hallway

The Beginner Intermediate Lounge or BIL (as it is usually referred to) is used by players to play when they want to practise with their partner/friends what they have been learning in the daily lessons held in the BIL . The BIL is essentially a learning centre. and also a place to forge friendships. A member wrote today offering to become a BIL Volunteer Helper she says It would be very nice to give back to something that has done so much for me. Not only have I gotten back to a game I played fairly well 20+ years ago, I have met some wonderful people and made great friends. Most BIL members play their social games in the Relaxed Bridge Club - look for Hosts with BIL member on their profile and you can be sure to be playing at a friendly table. The BIL has Zero Tolerance for any form of bad manners. The Creed being "Cherish Your Partner and Respect Your Opposition " Yes. there is a fee to belong BUT only AFTER you have been a member for 60 days to assess for oneself whether the $10 Annual Support Fee has value for you . The Annual Support Fee of 19cents a week provides the BBO Beginner and Intermediates who choose to join the BIL with • free lessons on BBO daily (currently 40 hours per week) some for Starter players right through to those suitable for Upper Intermediates • access to all BIL Special Events on BBO (usually 2 per month – many more in September) our next one being a New Year Marathon starting at 03:00 EST on Dec 31st and ending ...... • access to all BIL sponsored Free tournaments on BBO currently 7 a week,. Use of BIL Library: www.bilbridge.com • access to the BIL News Noticeboard (24/7) to keep up to date with BIL activities • access to the FAQ section (24/7) - all you need to know to get the most out of BBO and the BIL • Tournament details and extensive help • the Event Calendar - know what is coming up. ( provides members with emailed alerts and conversion to their own time zone) • the BIL Forum (Alfresco Café) get advice from the Experts, interact with fellow members • Gazette archive - every gazette has articles to learn from • The Bridge Quiz'/Crosswords to participate in (24/7) currently 5 different formats • A monthly emailed Gazette and regular bulletins to advise of Special Events There is a dedicated Beginners section for the true beginner and a Youth section for the 6-15 year olds. There is also a Translated Notes section where some of the Help notes have been converted Plus as a BIL member you can join • the BIL Mentoring Programme - 6 months free one on one tuition for those who are serious about improving their game - no additional charge is made for Mentoring I administer the service free and the Mentors give their time free. • And more The net proceeds from the Annual Support Fee is used to support these activities, events, website programming, mentor console development , administration expenses and more. The BIL being a Private Club is not affiliated to BBO and has to fund its own activities You have nothing to loose and much to gain by giving the BIL a try just fill in the application form on the link below Another message in my mailbox today from a member who joined two weeks ago who has not waited for the 60 days to expire before paying her ASFee says: Thanks so much Maureen. I'm so thankful I found BILBridge.com. I'm learning more every day and am enjoying my new found passion. BBO is an incredible place and the BIL is just one very minor , tiny part of it - explore and I am sure you will find the right niche for yourself.

I have 3 members very keen to become good Acol Players but sadly I have no Acol Mentors available at this time to help them . Do you have the time and willingness to help one of them with an hour or two a week one on one tuition ? A Beginner and Improving Beginner and an Intermediate (UK) To register as a BIL mentor please fill in the form on - http://bilbridge.com/ApplyForMembership/BI...Form_mentor.php Look forward to having you join the Team

Oleberg - cant say I follow your link to a song about money If you are asking do the mentors get paid ? - the answer is no The BIL is a non profit entity The Open Session Teaching Team who are currently providing the BIL players with some 48 hours of Free teaching sessions every week do not receive any payment. The Assistants who help with the announcements/player changes/housekeeping for those teachers do not receive any monetary reward The Mentors (85) giving free one on one lessons to the BIL Players (175) every week do not receive payment and the Players do not pay to join the programme The Tds who man the daily practice tournaments do not get paid Those who contribute their skills in many areas - e.g. writing up / translating extensive help notes for BIL players to learn to use the BBO software effectively :: Organising Special Events :: the programmers who convert lessons into Bridge Movies :: BIL Friends Offering online one on one assistance to use the software :: the Quiz Masters :: Forum Coordinator and many others who all give innumerable hours every week to provide the services that we do to BBO's beginner / intermediate players do not get paid And neither have any of the many who have gone before them over the past six years We ( myself included looking after the Administration and the Mentoring Programme ) are all VOLUNTEERS - we each have our own reasons but it comes back to a common demoninator - we all love bridge and want to see a new generation of bridge players stay with the game and improve. So Oleberg Mentoring BIL Players is a Labour of Love Free ! good to 'see' you :) - I will put that link to your webiste in my next BIL Gazette If you too want to give something back to the game - become a MENTOR

The BIL Mentoring Programme is desperately short of MENTORS Do you have the time ( and patience) to help a beginner or intermediate player to improve ? Tutors for Standard American ( especially) , Acol, SAYC and 2/1 are needed now To register your interest , availability please complete the registration form - Click Here The assignments are made for a 6 month period, giving the student an hour or so a week at a time to suit the Mentor. They are expected to do any homework set for them. A student who recently won a 4 week Quiz contest wrote:- I really enjoyed the quizzes - and my success is due in no small part to Kathy, my BIL Mentor - I cannot speak too highly of her, she has really taught me to focus and plan my play. I am so fortunate to have had her assigned as my Mentor and to that end I must say how grateful I (and countless others) are Another wrote: I feel so fortunate that you have paired me with Cornelia in the mentor programme. She is a great teacher, and I feel that I am learning so much with her patient guidance. The mentor programme is really great, and it's wonderful that people like Cornelia are willing to volunteer their valuable time. If this is not for you at this time maybe you know one of your Peers who would get satisfaction from helping the newcomers to achieve their dreams of becoming a good bridge player . Please ask them to leave me a message on BBO - send to BILmanager or email admin@bilbridge.com Thanks

Thanks Fred she tried many things : reloading BBO several times went into registry and temp internet files and up and down and sideways. No Win program could determine any corruptions or errors. I had completely removed every trace of BBO from this computer and all temp files—all of it, not a trace She followed all BBO Help advice and still couldnt get BBOWIN 5.2.6 back BUT then after sending emails around the globe she got back 3 replies the first of which said a mind blowing I use RegistryMechanic (http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/) Avast,(http://www.avast.com/eng/buy-avast-professional-google.html?gclid=CKyL3cSm9pwCFRBbagodRkHZaQ) AdAware,(http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php) Microsoft disk cleanup9part of the op sys0, Belarc advisorhttp://www.belarc.com/free_download.html) and Microsoft Security Advisor.(http://www.google.com/search?q=mbsa+download&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7DKUS) All are free except RM which is $30/year. It has been my experience that ccleaner reports that it does more than it does... and another said to download "ccleaner' and another called her up on Skype and said use "ccleaner' deciding there was nothing to lose she did just that and she reports: I ran it and found so much you would not believe it— So we will remember ccleaner if another person hits this brick wall. It obviously fixed any and all problems because I have BBOWIN5.2.6 BACK - YIPPEE So all is well once more by the by I have email notification of replies enabled on this forum - it says "You are currently receiving email notification of replies" But I did not get the one you posted Fred :rolleyes:

For some ( at the moment unknown ) reason a BIL Player removed BBOWIN V5.2.6 from her computer. When she tried to re-install it she received "error in compressed file -- Bad CRC " Now she is desperate to get it back on and operating 1. I have a new Chapter of Watson's Play of the Cards in LIN which can only be viewed with V5.2.6 2. I have Ron Klinger and Marty Bergen both making Guest appearances this coming week ( the BIL's 6th birthday celebrations) and as far as I know one can only Log the Chat ( i.e. the lesson ) from these sessions if one has V5.2.6 3. She runs a study group for Starter players and they go to the BBO Chat Rooms to talk about their lessons - and one can only do that on V5.2.6 For now she NEEDS V5.2.6 4. She sometimes does broadcasts for me and they can only be done from V5.2.6 I need her to have V5.2.6 Please HELP ! - using the KISS principle please - we are for all intents and purposes computer illiterates

I have 3 Beginner Intermediate Lounge (BIL) Players desperately wanting to improve their play - learning ACOL An Intermediate player available for lessons any evening GMT An Intermediate player available for lessons Mon/Wed/Thurs/Fri afternoons and evenings and also Tues evening only - GMT An Intermediate player available Tuesday/Wednesday evenings - GMT Looking for someone who wants to give back to the game, who has the patience and the time to help these players to improve If this is you please contact me asap admin@bilbridge.com or register at http://bilbridge.com/ApplyForMembership/BI...Form_mentor.php

BIL Teachers and Mentors have found it a real boon Roger. However now that the new teaching table facilities are available in the BBO Web-Client I have been encouraging them to use the Web-Client - the feedback is "I can't use the Chat Assistant with the Web-Client" I hope it won't be too long before BBO has a "Chat Assistant' style input system in the Web-Client so that you can create a version for the teachers and mentors to use there too.

I have BIL Players in the following countries eager to improve their game working one on one with a Mentor Germany - Upper Intermediate 2/1 available Tue/Fri/Sat/Sun Morning/Afternoon, Wed Morning, Thurs Afternoon Israel (2) Intermediate 5 card Majors available any evening Intermediate SAYC available any evening Jamaica Intermediate BridgeBase Advanced (SAYC) available Fri/Sat afternoon & evenings Sunday evening South Africa Beginner SAYC - available any evening - all day Saturday Spain (2) Beginner SAYC available Monday/Wednesday mornings and afternoons Intermediate SAYC any time by arrangement Turkey Improving Beginner 5 Card Majors available Tues/Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun afternoon and evenings If you have the time and the teaching skills and would like to help please fill in the registration form on Beginner Intermediate Lounge (BIL) Mentoring Programme Thank you

Maybe not the right forum to post this but many of SLEXY 's (Susan) BBO friends are not BIL members. Susan passed away recently after a long struggle with cancer Her partner responded to the BIL's card of condolence with Susan was beautiful. After her 14 month battle with Cancer we lost her Oct. 18th. She looked forward to the Bridge community of friends she made and looked forward to her mornings when she could login and meet friends and play. I lived with Susan for over 8 years, but as I watched over her over the past two years, her time on-line in Bridge Base was great, healthy fun for her and kept her "in the game". I couldn't help but to login to her account last night and try to let anyone that knew her, she had passed. http://slexy.net is a website where I will eventually post info and pix about our girl. - Neil London neillondon@hotmail.com

The Beginner Intermediate Lounge (BIL) Celebrates 5 Years !!! FIVE years ago I wrote to FRED asking for a sanctuary for BBO’s Beginner and Intermediate Players so that • Mentors had a quiet place to work with their mentees • Where teachers could hold classes for beginners away from the ‘know it alls’ • Where players who wanted to enjoy a social game without stress could play with their peers • Where players could compete against their peers • Where they could make friends and form partnerships • And of course to learn to become better bridge players FRED replied: …… what you are planning sounds great ….. and I have set up your private club... And so on September 3, 2003 the BIL was born Little did I imagine what I had let myself in for ! My vision was a group of some 200-500 players with whom I could learn to play bridge. No such luck, before too long the task became a full time , 7 day a week, 365 days a year Labour of Love – a never the less satisfying one. When the going gets tough I only have to read a entry or two in the Appreciation file and the effort becomes worthwhile. • …it has added a new dimension to my life • …has gotten me back to playing bridge ..nice folks and a great place to learn and play • …appreciate having a place where good bridge and good etiquette are encouraged and admired • … the BIL does so much to start neophyte bridgers on the right path • …you have no idea what joy BBO brings to our lives. Through BBO I made friends that have become an essential part of my daily life • …giving us fantastic support so we can enjoy this game we are so crazy about. I am very thankful to you and your great team for all your kindness and great work. • >>>>>>> hundreds more I gauge the BIL’s success not on the 9500 current BIL players representing some 100 + countries but on the many thousands more who have joined, stayed awhile and then moved on having upskilled, gaining the confidence to hold their own in the Main Bridge Club, in ACBL tournaments and other Open level tournaments every day. (and since Jan 07 BIL players now daily populate the Relaxed Bridge Club ). The BIL’s success can of course be attributed to the • Teachers – holding weekly Open session lessons • Mentors – working 1 on 1 with members • Members – helping out in so many ways – Broadcasters/ BIL Assists / Mentor Coordinators/ TDs / Help Table Conveners/ BIL Scribblers and Translators / BILFriends. Who have all volunteered their time to help BIL Players in so many ways. To each of them I send my most Heartfelt thanks for all they do These people are the rocks upon which the BIL has been built And my gratitude goes also to those members who have contributed to the BIL funds without which the BIL Library www.bilbridge.com would not have made it into cyber space. So what have we all been doing for the past FIVE years ? Providing free to BIL Players • 12,000 + hours of Open Teaching sessions • 200 + hours of Special Sessions by visiting Elite Bridge Players • 24,000 + hours of 1 on 1 mentoring sessions • 4,000 + hours of practice tournaments • 2500 + hours of teaching tournaments • Publishing 223 Newsletters growing from 2 pages to ave 20 pages • Setting up an online BIL Library www.bilbridge.com where members can access lesson material, bridge movies, test themselves in the QUIZ, send in questions, learn to use BBO effectively – 24/7 In addition BIL Players can play in the BIL’s daily BBO Masterpoint tournaments. So as you can see, while few BIL Players now-a-days use the BIL to play their social games in, it is nevertheless a BUSY place. Where to in the next five years ? • To expand the growth of the Mentoring programme now that I have an effective online administration programme nearing completion • To grow the Youth section ( started in 2006) for 6 – 15year olds • To establish BIL Ladders for Pairs and Teams • To establish a BIL Teams League • BIL players are talking of fielding teams for f2f tournaments ( watch out world the BILlies are coming :blink: ) Some members already hold bridge weekend get-togethers in various parts of the world. • And no doubt other activities will evolve - my first promise to members was that - Plans would always be being Planned. I would love to hear from Advanced/ Expert/ World Class players who enjoy sharing your bridge knowledge and have an hour or so to spare each week whether that is to join the mentoring programme or to help in some way with the youth programme – please email admin@bilbridge.com The BIL is also in need of sponsorship if the plans for the next five years are to become a reality. With the burgeoning of BBO I do realise that the BIL is now just a very, very small fish in an ever widening ocean but as long as BIL Players keep saying it has value I will continue to keep it moving forward. My thanks to FRED and UDAY for giving me the opportunity to provide and care for those new to both this wonderful game of bridge and to playing online. My heartfelt THANKS to all who have, over the past five years, been contributing in so many ways, making my wishes for BIL Players a reality. I salute you all – To All - C Y P R Y O - Cherish Your Partner and Respect Your Opposition

Do all new BBO members having joined BBO since end June 08 (and are only using the BBOFlash ) have to go back to bridgebase.com and download the Windows version in order to be able to view the Bridge Movies in the BIL Library ?

Thanks Hotshot < hey long time no see !> Time then to figure out a workaround - they say such brain activity can stave off senility so could be useful on 2 counts. Well the old grey cells have done their poor best and yes , I have a workaround :) that will enable me to take the best from the Flash Mail and still save the messages I need without too much of a hassle. For those readers who do need to keep copies of some of their mail here's what to do. Log into BBOFlash Attack the mail - Scroll through Delete those that require no reply ( hint if the sender has left spaces the preview can appear to be complete so always mouse over to see if there is more to it ) Click on More to send a reply then delete if you do not want a copy or click on Close if you want to keep a copy to save When all mail is dealt with Click on Close to clear the screen and go play some bridge <not for me though clearing the mail can take hours> Now log into BBOWIN and hey presto the mail you wanted to save is still there :) just click the ok button and it is Safe and Sound in your BBO Chat log on your hard drive for ever and a day - well that is to say until the space gremlins get them and of course so long as there is a BBOWIN to save it for us.

OOPs my love affair with the Mail Box is in crisis :o 5.0.3 - Clearing mail using "OK" saved the message to my harddrive - so I could put messages 'on hold' to reply to later . Also meant I had them on file to refer to days/weeks/months later when necessity arose (and it does often !) all neatly in their month of issue. BBOFlash - has Delete per line and a Delete all but no Save that I can see - deleting really does delete it - it does not give me the option to save to my hardrive 'Close' leaves it sitting in the mailbox. I could just leave them there forever more I suppose BUT they are listing in descending order - oldest at the top - don't fancy having to scroll forever to find todays mail. Newest at the top could do it. Right clicking the message does not give me a save option just Select all - CtrlC CtrlV pastes to a word doc but only the message not the sender details - ID - date/time etc. I cannot copy/paste the header. Typing those details <BBOIDs are :) > takes one back to the nightmares of 2003. I am sure there must be a simple couple of keystrokes that will solve this problem ?

ggwhiz (John) was happy to report : What a month! 3 of our pairs are invited to Atanta for the first Youth NABC and one pair won the overall and are flying to New York this Wednesday (11th) for an annual awards brunch hosted by Queen Latifah no less. John and Carole run bridge classes for 12 year olds at their school in Ottawa, Canada - He said: We are in the process of finishing off the school courses and it looks like our main event will be in the 30 table range. BTW, I was thrilled to see the reaction to BBO of a couple of kids that had fallen off the pace by virtue of not paying attention during the initial learning curve. What a great motivator. Carole and I have been doing this for some time from a high of 23 classes per term down to the present quota of 10 and all of them are 24 plus kids. Our Unit just moved to fund an extra 10 classes next year so we can certainly populate this effort. We incorporated as a non-profit recently and desperately need to catch our breath, organize and recruit some volunteer help as so far, its basically just been the two of us. Lots of good vibes though and others are starting to come forward which will potentially expand our class numbers next fall by a lot. What we've been up to is at www.bridgexperts.com but I can't find the time to keep the activities up to date. For example, our Unit gave some money to the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club and they have invited us to give a bridge intro during their Family Activities Days over the summer, generate enough interest in a lesson series in the fall and hopefully lead into full fledged bridge clubs. Look forward to working on some of the finer points with you after we all recharge our batteries. Amongst the finer points might be how or where to handle parent and grandparent -child partnerships that the above project may develop. The BIL's focus for our 6th year ( yes we will be 5 come Sept 3, ) will be fostering online practice/teaching sessions for the 6 - 15 year Youth group CHICKEN and AZIR have been working with their groups now for the past 2 years. CRAWJODI is keen to get started and I would like to hear from other Teachers who would like to become involved. The BIL Library has a section that is dedicated to the YOUTH Group and is ready to be expanded on so material / quiz / ideas are all needed so that this section can be developed.

I ♥LOVE♥ the new mail features - copy/paste - preview - cursor over - list form (can scroll down and reply to important mail without having to wade through all the ones that dont require an answer ) Oh it is a treat I could go on and on about it :P Probably a work in progress - but needing to do some homework on BBOFlash in preparation for the onslaught ! - I went through the Help List, lots of it doesnt load :P No team game help No tournament help except for conventions No Help for: MB$ About Playing Here Pick up game Playing special partner Set games Mail messages Private and Public Clubs Masterpoints Quick Search (page opens but the links on that page do not) About Kibitzers Vugraph Question: On the Private Club Descriptions The Club URL looks like it is a link (has the underline and even has the hand ) but it takes one nowhere - do the Private Clubs need to send in the URL for the Hyperlink to be activated ?

The DIRECTOR aka TD did NOT I repeat NOT put the sub into the seat of the disconnected player in the tourney under discussion The partner of the disconnected player contacted the Director AFTER the disconnected player had returned to ask to have him reseated. The Director then informed the Sub and the Sub declined to leave This was NOT a BBO Masterpoint Tournament but a FREE Practice one, the Directors of BIL Free Practice tournaments are NOT obligated to reseat a disconnected player unless the SUB is WILLING The BIL's disconnect/replacement policy will not be reviewed - I consider it fair and reasonable on the rest of the players and the substitutes - non of those people are responsible for the failure of a single player's connection to the internet. Any member with a contrary view can ask to stand in as a TD, and we will see what transpires. Many have aspired to the post but my records show that only 5 in 100 come back for a second attempt and of those I am fortunate if 1 goes on to become a regular TD. No TDs = no tournaments No Substitutes = no tournaments Players need to keep that in mind

The TD did NOT replace him The TD was NOT asked to find a sub The player's partner found a sub herself ! Instead of calling the Director she initiated and completed the replacement herself. It was the player's partner who preempted the TD, not being prepared to wait for her partner's return - we are not always the 'guilty' ones We cannot wait 'several minutes' for a player to return - it is unfair on the rest of the players and besides we have no way of knowing if the player will ever get back on - he might have had a power failure and be offline for hours ! If a table has finished the hand (or if the disconnected player is dummy ) we will hold up on putting in a sub - our 'one minute' is a minimum. One thing I wish Players would stop - stop saying they are 'booted'. Booted implies that the TD has with deliberate intent removed a player from the game. It takes extreme provocation for a TD to do so and when we are forced to do that the player and those at the table are all too well aware of the reason why. Players are disconnected for a multiude of reasons 99.9% of which have nothing to do with the TD - cyber space is a fragile thing, not to mention players who spill coffee on the keyboard , have the cat jump up onto the keyboard, the dog who pulls out the plug from the wall, we hear them all.

Brian, The TD did not sub an Expert player into the seat from which you disconnected The software makes it possible for the partner of a disconnected player to replace the missing partner and that is what happened in this instance. Upon your return the Sub was informed , the Sub chose to stay. The BIL's Policy on handling disconnections is: BIL Masterpoint - Pay Tourneys The TD allows 1 minute < with fingers crossed> for the missing player to return Non reappearance and a Sub is seated so that the tournament can proceed The skill level of the Sub can depend on who has volunteered at the time - if we have a choice BIL TD's will always select the first Beginner/Intermediate on the list . However, often we have no choice - if the only name on the Sub list happens to be an 'Expert" player then so be it, the tournament has to continue. During the minute we allow for the player to return if there are no Beg/Ints on the list we do check the Kibs to see if we can cajole one of them to Sub for us if needed. The ID of the missing player is placed on the TD 'friends' list and immediately upon reconnecting the Sub is notified , informed that the player is back and will be reseated - at the end of the round. The Sub is thanked most sincerely for having helped out - tournaments would collapse into chaos without Subs. The returning player informed The BIL's BBO Masterpoint Tournament Rules are attached to every pay tournament and the Substitution policy of allowing the paying player to be reseated ONCE clearly stated. Once is all that is allowed - the BBO software records every disconnect from a tournament and it does not differentiate between the ISP dropping them or my having taken the Sub out to put the player back in- the Sub could have connection problems of their own the following day and then find themselves with an automatic week ban from tournaments. (I am not sure what the % is these days to activate the ban but it was and presumably still is arbitrary and TD's have to keep that in mind) Free Fun/Teaching Tournaments The BIL members and the Teachers who provide Free Tournaments (restricted to BIL members) are free to set their own policies / rules governing the conduct of their tournaments and that includes the way they deal with substitutions. They are, after all, committing themselves to being available week after week at a given time, at no cost to members. They are certainly not responsible for the idiosyncracies of member's online connections. As demonstrated above, they do, though, have a responsibilty to those they use as Subs. I do realise that it is disappointing for a player to be enjoying a game only to find themselves suddenly 'out in the cold' .

HELP URGENTLY NEEDED The Beginner Intermediate Lounge (BIL) has a number of members who desperately want to improve their understanding of the game and their playing skills. Urgently needed are Advanced / Expert players who have an hour or two a week to spare to work with them as their Mentor It is a rewarding task as I am sure any of the 145 Mentors currently working with some 330 members will tell you. The BIL is deeply grateful to Des Sergeant (ASPIRING) who has been the BIL’s Mentor Co Ordinator for the past two years – a mammoth task which she has handled extremely well. While she is away on family business Chris (CHIPMONK) will keep the programme running. One of the most pleasurable parts of my job is receiving an email from a Mentor telling me to transfer one of their Mentees to the BIL’s Honorary Graduate membership as the member’s play has improved to the point that they should no longer be eligible for BIL membership. 29 “Graduated” last year and already 12 have done so this year. In particular we have a shortage of Mentors in Europe (especially Germany) , Australasia and USA. Some members having been waiting for months. But wherever you are, you are needed I have only to mention in my weekly Gazette that a Mentor is available and there will be a flood of applicants - BILlies are keen to learn. What being a BIL Mentor entails: Mentees are assigned to you for a six (6) month period – should you wish to continue a new mentee will be assigned to you or you can continue with the current one if they are progressing well and you want to see them ‘graduate’. It is expected that you will spend an hour or two with the mentee at least once a week (more often should it suit you/they) You can work with your Mentee in whatever way suits you both. This will depend on what area of the game the mentee most requires assistance with. • Bidding – practice using the Partnership Bidding Room (in Other Bridge Activities) • Play at a table in the BIL – discuss/comment • Play in tournaments to gain insights into areas that need working on during a one on one lesson • Set up hands / bidding sequences to go through in a Chat Room (in Other Bridge Activities) Homework should be given after every lesson in an area which you feel they need to work on. • The mentee will be instructed to do all homework set for them and to practice diligently in between your sessions. You can choose to work one on one or with a pair or with a group of 4 Being a MENTOR requires • Dedication • Time • Excellent Teaching Skills • Volumes of patience • And a thorough knowledge of the use of the BBO software If this sounds like you please contact me - email admin@bilbridge.com or Chris at censusman42@aol.com and we will be pleased to send you the Mentor Application Form to fill in so we have all the necessary details to match a mentee to suit. Good bridging

HELP URGENTLY NEEDED The Beginner Intermediate Lounge (BIL) has a number of members who desperately want to improve their understanding of the game and their playing skills. Urgently needed are Advanced / Expert players who have an hour or two a week to spare to work with them as their Mentor It is a rewarding task as I am sure any of the 145 Mentors currently working with some 330 members will tell you. The BIL is deeply grateful to Des Sergeant (ASPIRING) who has been the BIL’s Mentor Co Ordinator for the past two years – a mammoth task which she has handled extremely well. While she is away on family business Chris (CHIPMONK) will keep the programme running. One of the most pleasurable parts of my job is receiving an email from a Mentor telling me to transfer one of their Mentees to the BIL’s Honorary Graduate membership as the member’s play has improved to the point that they should no longer be eligible for BIL membership. 29 “Graduated” last year and already 12 have done so this year. In particular we have a shortage of Mentors in Europe (especially Germany) , Australasia and USA. Some members having been waiting for months. But wherever you are, you are needed I have only to mention in my weekly Gazette that a Mentor is available and there will be a flood of applicants - BILlies are keen to learn. What being a BIL Mentor entails: Mentees are assigned to you for a six (6) month period – should you wish to continue a new mentee will be assigned to you or you can continue with the current one if they are progressing well and you want to see them ‘graduate’. It is expected that you will spend an hour or two with the mentee at least once a week (more often should it suit you/they) You can work with your Mentee in whatever way suits you both. This will depend on what area of the game the mentee most requires assistance with. • Bidding – practice using the Partnership Bidding Room (in Other Bridge Activities) • Play at a table in the BIL – discuss/comment • Play in tournaments to gain insights into areas that need working on during a one on one lesson • Set up hands / bidding sequences to go through in a Chat Room (in Other Bridge Activities) Homework should be given after every lesson in an area which you feel they need to work on. • The mentee will be instructed to do all homework set for them and to practice diligently in between your sessions. You can choose to work one on one or with a pair or with a group of 4 Being a MENTOR requires • Dedication • Time • Excellent Teaching Skills • Volumes of patience • And a thorough knowledge of the use of the BBO software If this sounds like you please contact me - email admin@bilbridge.com or Chris at censusman42@aol.com and we will be pleased to send you the Mentor Application Form to fill in so we have all the necessary details to match a mentee to suit. Good bridging

Ctrl P short list - fast scroll long list cursor in list ,key in first 1/3 letters of the name

I see that there is now space in the tournament lobbies for another 'button' Any chance that a Tournament HELP button could be added ? it could bring up a list of live links to appropriate help (for example - not necessarily correct ) TOURNAMENTS http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?tournaments At a Table http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.htm...tournamenttable Completed http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.htm...rnamentcomplete In Progress http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?tournamentlobby Partnership Desk http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?partnershipdesk Pending http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.htm...urnamentpending Registration http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?register the same could be done for the Team Match lobby TEAM MATCHES http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?teams Completed http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?matchcomplete Create http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?creatematch In Progress http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?matchinplay Pending http://www.bridgebase.com/help/3/index.html?matchpending I had hoped that the new look Tournament Description would have the listed Directors automatically added to the 'restriction ' section. I believe players should know who the Directors are and though some do add them they are not easily seen amongst the notes in the description. The Host is not always the Director . The names would stand out more if listed in the 'restriction' section especially in this new look Tournament Description, which incidentally I think is great. There is always a wish list. The more we get the more we want ! But take heart F/U the 40 pages of three years ago must now be down to about 4 - I won't review them until the New Year :( Good things do come to those who wait - in the forum before the first BBO Forum I put forth the idea that the Main Bridge Club be split into three and so it has come to pass - I am so VERY Pleased to see that. I can't wait for the public release I suspect that this version could be the saving of several hours a day for me - good grief that could mean that in a couple of months time I might have to dust of the bridgemaster disc and start learning to play bridge ;)

I think it is terrific that it has happened just as BBO is about to launch the new look version. It does not seem so very long ago when it was exciting to see 100 online Then it was 1000 - there was much rejoicing Now 10,000 !! congratulations one and all Wonder if I will still be around to see it go over the 100,000 ;)

Richard's suggestion works perfectly I have been running the BIL tourneys that way since 'day 1'. Just hadn't thought of the names. I Host the tourneys and together with the BIL Directors (TF's) we run the tourneys. The BIL Honorary members serve as the learned "TD Pool". When we have a nitty gritty decision to make we hit the Lobby button scan the Hons online , see who seems to be free and message them 'can you help with a TD decision?". If they respond in the affirmative we add them to the tourney and await their ruling. Meantime we message the table/player " have consulted upon high will get back to you with the ruling in due course , play on" When the ruling is passed down the player/s are informed and if necessary the "TF" makes the appropriate adjustment . End of problem. We have always done it that way because we know that we know nothing and can therefore be nothing better than (extremely competent mind you ! ) TF's . But I don't see why it shouldn't work just as seemlessly for those that know something. If nothing else it will give the TD/TF some breathing space and the player a sense of being taken seriously.