[hallway]

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 ) 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

[pclayton]

Pops a few corks Maureen

I'm happy I've been able to help a little and hope I can again in the future.

[jtfanclub]

You've done great things for BIL, Maureen.

Please let me know if there's anything further I can do.

[vuroth]

I hope that someday (soon!) I'm able to return some of the debt I owe to the BIL.

V

[y66]

A class I took in the BIL got me hooked on bridge and helped me see some of the things that can happen during the play and defense of a hand that I would never have seen otherwise in a million years.

What a great resource.

[mycroft]

Thank you for all you do. In particular, for not falling into the trap of "numbers is all": the goal of Beginner groups should be to bring in new people, give them a comfortable area to learn, and graduate them *when they're ready*. You have done that, as well as providing an area for those people who know they will always be B-I to enjoy. I assume also that you, or the culture you have created, pressure the "C sharks" to find games at their level as well.

Thanks again.

[TwstofLime]

Happy 5th Birthday to the BIL! I gladly join the celebration for the friends I have made along the way and all the people who make the BIL Happenings Happen! Many thanks to my mentor Aspiring and the great dedication, inspiration, and hard work of our founder Maureen Hall. BIL = a place to learn, a place to laugh, a place to love the friends we make around the world. For the next 5 years, as someone often says... Good Bridging, Billies!

[PedroG]

Hi All,

What to say, BIL is the best place to be... I learned it all there and hope to still learn much more...

How diferent is this places from "Crazy Main" where people can play and learn and still be friendly to their partner and opp's...

Where Teacher, Graduates and Player learn to share the love they have for the game and share their expertises and ideias...

♥♥♥ WHAT A GREAT PLACE ♥♥♥

I have a debt to BIL that i try to always compensate using some of my free time to give to other what has been given to me...

TY Maureen and everyone that share a bit of their time to make BIL the great place it is...

♥♥♥
Pedro Gil

[hope1]

- Happy Birthday BIL
- Thank You Fred, Sherry, Uday for BBO and for Maureen
- It was a privilidge to be BIl Member from the beginning.
- Thank you Maureen for all devotion and work and endurance in creating the best environment for Beginners, Youth and Intermediates.
- Thanks all who helped Maureen to make BIL the place on BBO appreciated by so many

[robzim]

I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to you for this site. I came on BBO early in 2007 and for several months just watched people play (because I sat in terror of someone writing Partner????????? -- like I saw so many people do). And, I finally worked up the courage to click on find me a game -- and guess what -- parnters fled from me as though I was typhoid Mary -- many after making sure I was properly insulted.


In May of that year I discovered BIL (through my cousin) -- she said it was the best -- and she knew from whence she spoke. I started attending the classes -- and they were great. My total lack of knowledge of conventions, and BBO abbreviations etc. did have it's funny moment-- such as people would say DONT partner, and I'd say "Don't What?" or they'd say: nt partner if I didn't make a hand -- and I'd say, "Why should we have been in NT?" And when people wrote in lol -- I thought they were giving me lots of love.

My first class with lioncub -- I had the contract and after the lead, he said "claim" and the opponent claimed -- I was beside myself wondering how the opp could claim all the tricks without letting me at least play it out.

And let's not talk about how I couldn't find my way into the tournaments, etc. EGADS. But -- what a wonderful time I've had on this site. For the past year I've been crawjodi's assist -- and BILManger for her and hondo -- I've met people from all over the world and made many good friends.

This Thanksgiving, as last, I'm going to once again be thankful to BIL and what a difference it has made in my life.

So Happy Birthday BIL and MANY MANY thanks to Maureen for making this all possible.