About our Pizza Parties
Young bridge players enjoy challenging competition and good food at the monthly Silicon Valley Youth (SiVY) Bridge party.
Kids with all levels of experience are welcome.
Upon arrival the kids play casually and enjoy snacks. After pizza is served many players enter a mini-tournament while others keep playing for fun. Brand new players are taught the basics of the game, learning as they play.
The pairs in the mini-tournament practice skills in bidding as well as play. Prizes are awarded to the winners.
Volunteers are available to help the kids who play for fun.
Near the end of each party, dessert is served, while tournament winners are announced and prizes are awarded
The SiVY monthly events are held to provide kids from our after school classes a chance to meet aspiring players from other schools and organizations. They are also a great way for kids who have learned from adult family to play bridge with other young people.
September 7, 2014
Thirty-four students, ranging in age from seven to twenty-four, gathered at the Bridge Center in Mountain View for bridge, pizza, and cake. A highlight of the evening was a celebration of the recent bridge accomplishments of local young players.
Under 21 Medal winner Kevin Rosenberg (l) with ACBL Collegiate Championship winners (l-r) Armin Askari, Raymond Von Mizener and Isha Thapa.
Participants were introduced to three members of the team that recently won the ACBL Collegiate Championships in Las Vegas for U.C. Berkeley: Armin Askari, Isha Thapa, and Raymond Von Mizener. (The fourth team member, Rebecca Wernis, is currently doing research in Brazil.) Isha is a SiVY volunteer who taught at the highly successful SiVY Bridge Camp in June. She is currently teaching a bridge class for fellow students at Cal. Armin first learned to play bridge because his high school math teacher decided to teach the class bridge every Friday. Raymond said that he and a group of friends taught themselves to play bridge by doing research on Wikipedia, and he found that the people at the Cal Bridge Club were a lot better than he was when he first joined. He thought it "would have been great to have a program like SiVY growing up."
Kevin Rosenberg was honored as a member of the team that recently won the silver medal in the Under 21 division of the World Bridge Federation Junior World Championship event in Istanbul in August. Kevin, at age 17, has played bridge for more than 10 years and is a constant presence at SiVY events, always ready to mentor younger players. Kevin was also a teacher at Bridge Camp.
Youth NABC Strat C Team winners
Finally, four young SiVY Bridge players--Kevin Huang (14), Michael Hu (11), Brent Xiao (14), and Rory Xiao (10)--earned their first taste of applause for their bridge accomplishments. The four young players finished first in Strat C in a preliminary game at the recent Youth Bridge Championships in Las Vegas. Rory and Brent's father reports that his sons are now "hooked," and hope to play in the upcoming Youth Championships in Chicago and Reno. When cake was served, Rory wanted to wait until the servers cut the piece with his name on it (the servers obliged, without making him wait).
The evening continued with a seven-table duplicate tournament, divided into two sections by player experience level. The East-West leaders in the intermediate section were pleased enough about winning masterpoints to want to join the ACBL. Only one had brought a parent with her to pay the fee, so her partner had to wait to send in the form. The overall winners in the intermediate section were also excited to receive autographed copies of Louis Sachar's The Cardturner, a young adult novel centered on bridge. 
At two other tables, SiVY mentors offered beginning-level instruction to newcomers, including several parents, several youngsters who had never played bridge, and 4-year-old Colin Tivol, who already loves the game. Colin's mom commented that he and his 7-year-old sister, Violet, "learned math by playing bridge."
The bridge games at our parties are American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) sanctioned awarding masterpoints (MP) to high scorers. ACBL membership is not required for our games but is strongly suggested. You can join online or at the Bridge Center on the night of an event. Adult membership is $28 for the first year and junior membership only $15 per year. Both include a monthly print magazine and registration of masterpoints (start earning towards becoming a Life Master!).