About our Pizza Parties
Young bridge players enjoy challenging competition and good food at the monthly Silicon Valley Youth (SiVY) Bridge party.
Aspiring bridge players ages 10-25 are welcome – as long as they know just a little bit about bridge and want to learn more.
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 11, 2016
Fifty-two youth attended our August pizza party. After playing bridge for fun and eating pizza, fruit and other goodies, thirty-nine youth entered our bridge tournament with twenty youth playing in the 'experienced' section and nineteen youth (and one adult) playing in the less experienced section.
The remaining youth played bridge for fun while learning from our volunteer table mentors.
Michael Xu and Elijah Shacter are both 8th graders at Terman Middle School. Michael attended his first SiVY event about a year ago without knowing anyone in the program or any bridge players. He is really enjoying the game and is working on starting a bridge club at Terman. Elijah’s grandmother taught him some casual bridge years ago, but he hadn’t kept it up.
Michael started teaching Elijah bridge a week ago. Michael really likes the deep thinking that bridge requires and Elijah really wants to improve to WIN! As new partners and players, they did well finishing 3rd in B with a 52.78% game. After the game they were still excitedly talking about the last hand of the evening, Michael thought very hard about doubling 3NT which he could have set, but decided to bid 4H and went down 1.
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Jack Herrema, an 8th Grader at JLS attending his first SiVY pizza party, could hardly believe his eyes when he was dealt a monster 27 point hand. And this was only the second hand Jack had ever declared. Table mentor Randy Ryals helped Jack bid and play this impressive hand showing those at the table about counting your winners and the power of a long suit to take more tricks.
After the tournament, everyone enjoyed cake while the winners of the tournament picked their prizes and had their photos taken.
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 $29 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!).