Out with the old and in with the new is a phrase commonly associated with the start of the new year. Before we're too quick to leave last year behind, I thought it would be interesting to see just how we did. And personally, I think it was a great year. The Unit's Unit Game has returned to its pre covid numbers of about 25 tables per game. The November Charity game proved once again just how generous our members are. We restarted our bridge seminar series with Robert Todd, a rising star in the bridge education world. The Winter Sectional returned with stellar success, where we averaged 33 tables per session over 3 days. We brought back our summer non-life master section and we now have a new and very improved website.
Our club, The Bridge Club of North County, had a wildly successful year in my opinion. Hazel continued her beginning bridge lessons which continues to build our base of bridge players and she added a session for more advanced beginners to build on their bridge skills. This has resulted in the 499er game actually being bigger than the open game. For the month of December, there were 88 open tables and 140 499er tables if you only count Monday thru Friday games. Based on table count, the BCNC had a total of 3,367 tables for 2024, which makes the BCNC the 6th largest club in California, the largest club in San Diego County and the 53rd largest club in the US.
All of these numbers and statistics are interesting but I think the secret sauce for this success is a strong member base and a great group of volunteers that provide a really friendly environment to play bridge in. Both the Unit and BCNC are not-for-profit organizations which rely on our members and volunteers for our success. And we would like to thank you for a great 2024.
Moving back to business, there will not be a unit game this month. January 24-26 will be our Winter Sectional, and you should start making your plans now. Sunday will be a team game and I expect we will have enough interest that there will be a separate non-life master section. To facilitate the registration process, you can register your team now on our website. Don't wait, time moves faster than any of us want it to.
The Unit Board would like to wish all of you the best for the New Year.

​Art Foeste, Unit 549 President