han Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Why not in the US? See jdonn's reply above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerben42 Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Josh is not the only US junior, and I think any serious junior player should not turn down playing in a tournament of this level. Any salary you might miss is worth less than the experience. If you feel differently, that's your decision of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimG Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Josh is not the only US junior, and I think any serious junior player should not turn down playing in a tournament of this level. Is this a weekend event, or would it require time away from a non-bridge job? Or, are you suggesting that any "serious" junior player must be making a living from bridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike777 Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 http://www.buffettcup.com/EventDetails/tab...US/Default.aspx Timetable The timetable for this year's event is as follows: Mon Sept 15th: Opening Ceremony: Buffett Cup Day 1 (2 sessions) Tues Sept 16th: Buffett Cup Day 2 (2 sessions) Weds Sept 17th Buffett Cup Day 3 (2 sessions) Thurs Sept 18th Buffett Cup Day 4 (1 session): Closing Banquet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 I doubt very much that Josh was in any way serious. I suspect that any USA Junior player, even those who play professionally, would feel honored to be asked to play in this event and would accept such an invitation without second thought (provided of course that they did not already have unchangable plans for the time in which the tournament is scheduled). While it is probably the case that some professional players in the USA are basically mercenaries, most are not. In my experience the mercenary attitude among some pros tends to form later in life. Most Juniors still love the game so much that being paid to play is a secondary consideration to having the opportunity to play in exceptional events. Fred GitelmanBridge Base Inc.www.bridgebase.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jlall Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Come on guys, Josh was making a blatant joke in reply to my blatant joke. It is true that it would be hard for some of the non pro juniors to go becuse a lot of them have jobs/school and couldn't get the time off, but I'm sure most would be able to make time for an event like this. The truth is that almost all of the top juniors in USA are pros though (which would make it easy for them to be able to go, and I think all of us would miss a regional for this event). Oh and for those who don't know, I'm sure Jdonn won't mind me sharing this, he had to take so much time off work to go to Thailand for the world junior championships 2 years ago that he would effectively have gotten fired so he QUIT HIS (good) JOB and then found a new one. That is the level of passion jdonn has for bridge! He clearly wouldn't demand to be paid to go to the Buffet Cup :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
han Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Oh I thought it was so clear that Josh was joking, I guess I should have been more careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwnn Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 As a rough guideline, most of han's (and some other posters') posts where he doesn't use smileys and end in a period are at least partially facetious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnneM Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 As of 6/30 the average age in ACBL was 68.56. District 1 (eastern Canada) was youngest at 65.46, and District 9 (Florida) was oldest at 71.68. I don't know what the mean age was. My District is among the oldest at 69.70 but I am glad to say I am under that (barely). Alan Sontag's "The Bridge Bum" was one of the first bridge books I ever read and I still chuckle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pclayton Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 Aren't they at least getting hotel and airfare for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossoneri Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 Oh dear I just realised I won't be able to catch some of the action since I will be on a 13 hour flight to London on the 17th. Phil: That's a good question. Who are the sponsors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnneM Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 In our District it was money from the Buffet-Gates Bridge Foundation (name?) that made bridge classes in the Hawaii schools possible with a very positive result. After a huge fundraising campaign by the Hawaiian Units 11 juniors were sent to Atlanta, some of them very new players, and they all earned points and had a great time. All it takes is a couple of dedicated volunteers (like Busaba Williams of Hawaii) to get these things going. Sorry I am preaching. :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 Aren't they at least getting hotel and airfare for this? I played in the first Buffett Cup (in Dublin a couple of years ago). Our expenses were covered and, in general, we were treated like royalty by our wonderful Irish hosts. Among the many nice things they did for us: free tickets to watch the Ryder Cup (which I suspect were very expensive). I don't know where the money to pay for all of this came from or if expenses will be covered for this year's Buffett Cup (but I am guessing yes). Fred GitelmanBridge Base Inc.www.bridgebase.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrothgar Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 As of 6/30 the average age in ACBL was 68.56. District 1 (eastern Canada) was youngest at 65.46, and District 9 (Florida) was oldest at 71.68. I don't know what the mean age was. My District is among the oldest at 69.70 but I am glad to say I am under that (barely). Alan Sontag's "The Bridge Bum" was one of the first bridge books I ever read and I still chuckle. Thanks for publishing this information I don't suppose that you have any information about the rate of change in the mean membership age? What was the mean membership age in 2001? 2002? ... There's no (real) problem with having an old membership. However, if the average age of the membership is increasing rapidly over time this is very problematic. For example, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is 70. Furthermore, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is increasing by .5 years, each year. Furthermore, lets (hypothetically) assume that ACBL drop off the face of the earth at age 78. This says that we're going to encounter some very real problems in 16 years or so. BTW, its often more useful to study the median membership age rather than the mean. In particular, if you have a large demographic buldge working its way through the system its useful to know when that cadre will exit. (I run these types of models a lot at work. They're very useful for planning purposes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdonn Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 For example, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is 70. Furthermore, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is increasing by .5 years, each year. Furthermore, lets (hypothetically) assume that ACBL drop off the face of the earth at age 78. This says that we're going to encounter some very real problems in 16 years or so. But what if average life expectancy is increasing by .5 years each year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdonn Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 LOL I didn't notice the whole middle part of this thread. Sorry for making obvious jokes everyone! BTW the suggestion that I wouldn't go without being paid was the secondary joke, the real one was the suggestion that I would expect to be invited :unsure: If any of you humorless people really want to know, if I was ever invited I would pay my own expenses if I had to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrothgar Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 For example, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is 70. Furthermore, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is increasing by .5 years, each year. Furthermore, lets (hypothetically) assume that ACBL drop off the face of the earth at age 78. This says that we're going to encounter some very real problems in 16 years or so. But what if average life expectancy is increasing by .5 years each year? Then the "Depends" folks are going to be very happy? It goes without says that a real model will be a lot ore complex than what I sketched out. A real model would want to develop a Probability Density Function describing the age at which a folks exit the system and track the extent to which this is changing over time. (As a more practical example, when a software company sells a copy of some product we get $X in revenue from the sale. We also expect that the customer will purchase support and maintenance contracts costing $Y for Z years)If the marketing department is doing their job right, they can slice and dice this data and tell you how Z changes depending on the Industry that they are in, Nationality, or even the sate of the macro economy. I suspect that the Vegas casinos do the same thing. The must be some model that says "It costs us $X to lure some guy from Peoria into our den of inequity. However, once he's inside we expect to take him for $Y". In contrast, folks from New England are stupod enough to play the slots, so we expect to generate $Z from them) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycroft Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 "den of inequity" - Richard, if that's a typo, it's hilarious; if it was on purpose, a more perfect description of a LV Casino I have not seen. Re: cup, I would think that if expenses were not paid, that would be unseemly (and hard for juniors, even the pros. Tickets to middle of Kentucky (or Ireland) are not cheap). I think the event is fun, and for promoting the game, good, even if I'd rather watch the Norwegian team trials (for instance) - but of course, you don't have to promote *me* into the game! I think a bigger problem are the people who according to one letter-writer this month, stay away from the Sunday Swiss because they, with their 2000-5000 (!) points, don't want to score against the big boys. Seriously, people, is there not a time when you're good enough at this game that you're just a little embarrassed to admit that you need to be protected? Michael (2nd in X, 8th in A Sunday with my 600. Guess which one I'm more proud of?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrothgar Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 "den of inequity" - Richard, if that's a typo, it's hilarious; if it was on purpose, a more perfect description of a LV Casino I have not seen. Deliberate, but sadly not original don't recall who came up with that one originally, but it wasn't me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 As of 6/30 the average age in ACBL was 68.56. District 1 (eastern Canada) was youngest at 65.46, and District 9 (Florida) was oldest at 71.68. I don't know what the mean age was. My District is among the oldest at 69.70 but I am glad to say I am under that (barely). Alan Sontag's "The Bridge Bum" was one of the first bridge books I ever read and I still chuckle. Thanks for publishing this information I don't suppose that you have any information about the rate of change in the mean membership age? What was the mean membership age in 2001? 2002? ... I wrote "high 50's" because I googled for median age of bridge players, and the only article I found was from 1997 and it said 54. I assumed it had gone up in the past decade, but I didn't think it had gone up so much. It's also possible that there's confusion between median and mean. I think the median skews higher than the mean, because of all the intermediate-age people who stop playing while they raise families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnneM Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 "I don't suppose that you have any information about the rate of change in the mean membership age? What was the mean membership age in 2001? 2002? ..." I probably have that info, but it's time for primetime Olympics, so I will look in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnneM Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 I couldn't find further back than 6/30/07 when it was 68.17 so we seem to be aging about 6 months per year right now. At this rate we should all be dead in about 30 years or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillHiggin Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 we seem to be aging about 6 months per year right now. Aging 6 months per year gets my vote. Would someone please inform my body! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walddk Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 I have just received our schedule. We will be broadcasting from the word go, most likely from 6 tables throughout the four days. I'll have the schedule listed on our vugraph web page as soon as possible. Scoring:All tournaments are board-a-match (or point-a-board). The winners of each Pairs round receive 4 points.The winners of each Team segment receive 7 points.The winners of each Individual round receive 1 point. If there is a draw, the points are shared. Thus there are available: 120 points in the Pairs.126 points in the Teams.132 points in the Individual. The winners are the team that passes 189½ points. Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walddk Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 It has been confirmed that the organisers have 6 laptops and at least as many operators in Louisville. In other words: every single board at all tables will be broadcast on BBO from Monday. I am in the process of recruiting at least a couple of commentators per table for all 22 sessions. Some (commentators, not sessions) will be added as we go. Line-ups: Europe:Sabine Auken and Marion MichielsenMichel and Thomas BessisBoye Brogeland and Espen LindqvistTom Hanlon and Hugh McGannTor Helness and Jan Peter SvendsenMichal Kwiecien and Jacek Pszczola United States:Bob Hamman and Zia MahmoodGeoff Hampson and Dick FreemanAlan Sontag and David BerkowitzTobi Sokolow and Janice Seamon-MolsonHoward Weinstein and Steve GarnerRoy Welland and Bjorn Fallenius Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.