[awm]

We would like to have a fun and well-attended regional. This is true of every regional everywhere of course, but the fact that "LA Bridge Week" used to be among the best and most popular regional tournaments in the country (and a lot of players from our district remember back in the 70s and 80s when this was true) makes it a more pressing concern.

If we were to run three tournaments a year and all of them were seven days and basically had the "standard regional schedule" of endless KOs and one-day open pairs, then there is little to draw people to our tournament. There are many other regional tournaments with the identical schedule, likely in a cheaper or more convenient location (in fact there are even others held the same week).

The theory is that we can make our regional more of a draw by holding special events (like four session pairs and teams) that do not exist at other regional tournaments, by having a longer tournament (more bridge for less travel) and holding fewer tournaments per year to concentrate attendance.

The Los Angeles Bridge Week Regional is one of the few opportunities to play any of the following events outside of an NABC:

(1) Two session IMP pairs.
(2) Two session Board-a-Match teams.
(3) Four session pairs.
(4) Four session swiss teams.
(5) Calcutta auction with cash prizes.

This was the first year we tried this format, and we had substantially better attendance than in previous years (yes, this meant we went from "below average" attendance to "average" attendance, but it's still an improvement). The special events were a lot of fun and hopefully word will get out and we will do even better next year.

[ArtK78]

There used to be a rule that there could not be more than one of any type of event at a Regional. So, a five-day Regional used to have Men's/Women's Teams one day, Men's/Women's Pairs another day, Masters/Nonmasters Pairs, Open Pairs and Swiss Teams. This was also prior to the elimination of Men's Pairs and Teams events (yes, I am that old - if I remember correctly, the first Regional event that I ever played in was a Men's Teams at an Atlantic City Regional at Haddon Hall, which is now Resorts Casino). There might be some other events substituted for one of these 5, but this was a fairly common sequence of events for a 5-day Regional.

Bridge Week in LA always lasted 10 days - Friday to Sunday the following week. In order to comply with the rule about not duplicating events, the organizers had to get creative. So there were events held at Bridge Week that you would not see at any other Regional - Board-A-Match teams, Life Masters Pairs, Mixed Teams, etc.

It is good to see that Bridge Week is continuing to provide some events that you don't see anywhere else, even if it means a sacrifice in the turnout to some extent.

EDIT: I just saw Adam's post stating that attendance was UP with the new format. Good news!

SECOND EDIT: Justin's reference to events in NYC could be a reference to the Goldman Pairs and the Reisinger KO. There was a time when these events were the premier events outside of an NABC. They are still good events, just not as premier as they used to be. The Goldman Pairs may be the only 4-session open pairs in the East. The Reisinger is not what it once was (I remember seeing 75 teams enter the event). I have also played in a two-day BAM at an NYC Regional. Still another event you will not find at another Regional in the East.

[awm]

ArtK78, on Jul 20 2009, 12:34 PM, said:

It is good to see that Bridge Week is continuing to provide some events that you don't see anywhere else, even if it means a sacrifice in the turnout to some extent.

EDIT: I just saw Adam's post stating that attendance was UP with the new format. Good news!

This is something of a misconception. Bridge Week has not offered these events continuously every year. The last five years (at least), Bridge Week has been a "regular" seven day regional with the typical schedule.

During those years, attendance has continued to decline.

We have reverted, this year, to a more exciting schedule. The "new" schedule is similar in many ways to the "old" schedule from decades ago, but is not what we had been doing for the past few years. The reversion to this schedule was in an attempt to improve attendance, and it has done so. The interesting question will be whether next year is even better as word gets out, or attendance goes down again as the novelty wears off.

[JoAnneM]

There are many Regionals that run more than 2,000 tables and more than a few that run more than 3,000 tables, and of course, Gatlinburg. We call these large Regionals, "destination" Regionals. Penticton and Palm Springs are two that come to mind in the west, and Seaside is rapidly approaching that status.