The complex card game of bridge is a way to challenge the brain and stay sharp with age, according to a Guelph Bridge Club representative.
“It’s a wonderful game for the grey cells,” said bridge club representative Sheila McLaren. Adding that many bridge players also enjoy completing crosswords.
The Guelph Bridge Club is a place where about 200 players from all over Guelph, Wellington County and the Region of Waterloo gather to play bridge five days a week.
“The attraction is the challenge of the game and as far as this club is concerned there’s definitely a social aspect to it,” McLaren said. “It’s a very friendly, welcoming club.”
McLaren said the club’s attitude has made an impression on other teams.
“When we go to tournaments around the province and you say you come from the Guelph Bridge Club (people say) ‘oh that’s a nice club, I’ve heard a lot about it.’” McLaren said.
For those who don’t know how to play bridge but would like to learn the Guelph Bridge Club is scheduled to host a Learn Bridge in a Day workshop on Sept. 24.
The day is for beginners or those looking to get back into bridge after returning from a hiatus.
The day includes both instruction and playing time.
“We did this last year and we had a waiting list, we had to turn people away,” McLaren said.
“Which we didn’t want to do but we held it in here and there’s only so much room but from that a number of people thought, ‘yeah I like this game, I’m going to try it,’ and took lessons.”
The one-day workshop is an overview of the game of bridge.
“We do enough that they pick up the cards and they play,” she said. “There are four at a table and then there’s a volunteer from the club and it’s always someone who’s a beginner, you know, hasn’t been playing for more than about a year.”
Every volunteer understands what the new players are going through, McLaren explained.
“It’s a mentorship kind of thing that we really do work on,” she said.
If workshop attendees decide they want to further their knowledge of bridge the club also offers lessons for all levels of players.
The club also offers six games of bridge a week (one each weekday – with two on Tuesdays). The membership fee for the club is $60 a year and $5 per game, which lasts about three hours. However, for $8 visitors can check out one of the daily games to see if joining the club is something they’d be interested in.
Players are not required to bring a partner to any of the clubs games, if they come solo they’ll be paired with another solo player. Sometimes more experienced players play with newer players to mentor them through the game.
“There’s that atmosphere here that’s different from a lot of clubs because a lot of places where they play duplicate, they’re so competitive and they can be really mean to their partner … and that’s what turns people off duplicate bridge a lot of the time,” McLaren said. “And this is simply not allowed here. Absolutely a zero tolerance for any of that kind of behaviour.”
The club also offers social events like barbecues and Christmas parties but they always return to playing bridge.
“You can’t come here and not play bridge,” McLaren said.
For more information about the Learn Bridge in a Day workshop or the Guelph Bridge Club visit http://www.guelphbridgeclub.org.
