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ACBL District 4

4 THE LOVE OF BRIDGE

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2027 Tournament Schedule

ACBL District 4

Dates: City: State: Info: Results: Unit: Category: Type:
Apr 17-18, 2027 Rochester NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Apr 26-30, 2027 Rehoboth Beach DE Info 190 Open Regional
Jun 4-6, 2027 Boalsburg [State Colle… PA Info 217 Open Sectional
Jun 21-27, 2027 King of Prussia [Phila… PA Info 141 Open Regional
Jul 10-11, 2027 Rochester NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Sep 13-17, 2027 Penn Yan NY Info 112 Open Regional
Oct 23-24, 2027 Rochester NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Oct 25-31, 2027 Manheim [Lancaster] PA Info 168 Open Regional
Nov 13-14, 2027 TBa NY Info 112 Open Sectional

This schedule was last updated on: Sat Sep 13 04:37:07 2025 gmt and derived from the ACBL website.

2026 Tournament Schedule

ACBL District 4

Dates: City: State: Info: Results: Unit: Category: Type:
Jan 2-4, 2026 Philadelphia PA Info 141 Open Sectional
Feb 2-8, 2026 STaC D4 Info 141 STaC Sectional
Feb 20-22, 2026 Wilmington DE Info 190 Open Sectional
Mar 27-29, 2026 Philadelphia PA Info 141 Open Sectional
Apr 18-19, 2026 Rochester NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Apr 27-May 1, 2026 Rehoboth Beach DE Info 190 Open Regional
May 4-10, 2026 STaC D4 Info 141 STaC Sectional
May 15-17, 2026 Allentown [Allentown] PA Info 133 Open Sectional
May 29-31, 2026 Boalsburg [State Colle… PA Info 217 Open Sectional
Jun 8-12, 2026 Penn Yan NY Info 112 Open Regional
Jul 25-26, 2026 Rochester NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Jul 27-Aug 2, 2026 STaC D4 Info 141 STaC Sectional
Aug 3-9, 2026 King of Prussia PA Info 141 Open Regional
Sep 18-19, 2026 Allentown PA Info 133 Open Sectional
Sep 25-27, 2026 Cherry Hill [Philadelp… NJ Info 141 Open Sectional
Oct 9-11, 2026 Wilmington DE Info 190 Open Sectional
Oct 10-11, 2026 Rochester NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Oct 26-Nov 1, 2026 Manheim [Lancaster] PA Info 168 Open Regional
Nov 7-8, 2026 Lyons [Rochester] NY Info 112 Open Sectional
Nov 16-22, 2026 STaC D4 Info 141 STaC Sectional
Dec 11-13, 2026 Wilmington DE Info 190 Open Sectional

This schedule was last updated on: Sat Sep 13 04:36:05 2025 gmt and derived from the ACBL website.

2023 Goodwill Committee Appointee: Mark Cohen

ACBL District 4

As a bridge enthusiast, Mark Cohen sprang into action after hearing the Valley Forge Bridge Club was closing.  He and other local players considered options and determined a member-owned club was right for the local community.  This resulted in the creation of the King of Prussia Bridge Club (KoPBC), in which Mark serves as Club Manager.

It was in his capacity as Club Manager that he answered the call to organize Unit 141’s first post-pandemic Sectional at KoPBC.  No small feat, since it required a pre-registration process, enforcement of ACBL Covid regulations, and providing a lunch for players.

More recently, Mark also agreed to take on two more major roles for District 4.  Beginning in 2023, Mark will serve as Co-Chair the Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge (along with Betsy Cutler).  And he also stepped up to the challenge when asked to play a leadership role in the 2025 Summer NABC in Philadelphia.  He will serve, along with John Dickenson and Betsy Cutler, as one of the “Tri-Chairs” for that event.

Did I mention that Mark still has a “day job” as a Real Estate agent?  What’s that old saying… “if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it”.  Mark fits that description – in spades (or hearts, or diamonds, or clubs)


Mark’s Backstory:

Mark started in bridge by helping out after playing in games in New York City clubs. He became an employee and junior partner for 13 years at the Beverly Bridge Club, and also served on the ACBL Board of Governors.  Upon returning home to Philadelphia, family and work kept him out of bridge for 25 years.

It was during the pandemic that Mark helped create the King of Prussia Bridge Club where he now serves as volunteer manager. He ran the April 2022 PCBA Sectional and hosted 4 I/N Sectionals at KOPBC. Mark is running for the Unit 141 Board and will also be a Chair of the Valley Forge Regional and the Philadelphia Summer Nationals in 2025.

Mark is a Gold Life Master and in his 30th year as a local residential real estate agent. He lives with his husband Marty Johnson in Audubon, PA.

2023 D4 Goodwill Committee Appointee: Sue Manning

ACBL District 4

With a background in technology, Sue Manning recognized her ideal skill set and offered to assist the ACBL and online bridge groups, with critical upgrades.  This resulted in Sue volunteering as an integral member of multiple bridge technology teams, contributing to EDGAR (online cheating detection program), Shark Bridge, and The Common Game.  More recently she was  participated in a prioritization assessment with ACBL Information Technology.

Her many hours of effort are 100% volunteer, and all for the improvement of bridge.  She is making an amazing contribution to our game.


Sue’s Backstory:

Sue Manning is a frequent volunteer in the world of bridge with a background enabling her to help with technical problems in support of online bridge.  She studied Computer Science at Cornell and Rice Universities, earning a Masters Degree from Cornell. She spent her career in Silicon Valley as a systems programmer for Xerox, Taligent, Sun Microsystems and Apple.

Consequently, Sue was well-placed to help the ACBL when the pandemic forced the bridge world online.  She worked behind the scenes to help Jay Whipple and The Common Game launch the VACBs and later on the Big Team Games platform used for online team games such as GNT trials.

Additionally, Sue has provided some development for Milen Milkovski on Shark Bridge for their teaching platform now used by Adam Parrish and other top instructors.  She also served on the ACBL Board technology review committee in Fall 2022.  Most recently she is writing code for Franco Baseggio and Brian Platnick for the EDGAR anti-cheating package, currently in development., and scheduled for launch by ACBL early in 2023.

As a member of ACBL, Sue understands the importance of contributing her skills to help the organization.  Volunteer support like this is essential to the success of the ACBL.  Jay Whipple commented “Sue is an extremely talented, tireless, and tenacious team player who just says “yes” when asked to server on bridge/technology related projects.

2023 D4 Goodwill Committee Appointee: Lisa Mita

ACBL District 4

As membership at her club and Unit continued to shrink, Lisa Mita committed to make a difference and become a bridge teacher.  Then (yikes) came the pandemic, but Lisa didn’t flinch, she simply made a smooth transition to Shark Bridge (online) in her quest to continue promoting bridge.  Her latest accomplishment, made at the urging of her club, was to become a licensed “Learn Bridge in a Day” (LBIAD) instructor.  Lisa’s first LBIAD was held earlier this year at King of Prussia Bridge Club, and attracted 67 students.  And some of these students are continuing on with additional bridge lessons.

But Lisa isn’t just a bridge teacher, she also nudges and cheers on players with a thirst for the game.  She whets the appetites of her students and fellow players to play against the best competition they can find.  Her belief is that the challenge of playing against the best is what serves to strengthen a player’s mental toughness and card play.

Lisa’s Backstory:

I have been teaching bridge in the Philadelphia area for more than ten years.  My first certification was as a Better Bridge certified teacher with Audrey Grant and continued  on to the ACBL TAP certification and an ACBL Online Teaching Certification.  I am also an active member of the ABTA (American Bridge Teachers’ Association) and am always looking to improve my skills.

I enjoy teaching bridge at the King of Prussia Bridge Club, country clubs, social clubs, retirement communities and private groups.  When not teaching bridge, you’ll find me playing either bridge or golf.

2023 D4 Goodwill Committee Appointee: Todd Thorsen

ACBL District 4

In 2020, District 4 put out a call for help in building a new website to replace the old, worn-out and obsolete site.  Without hesitation, Todd Thorsen offered his skills to set up the structure for the site, and to also host the site, including security monitoring and upgrades.

He was pivitol in transitioning historical data from the “old” website by cataloging and copying many items into the new site: from photographs, to player stories, board meeting minutes, and many other documents that are important to the historical record of District 4.

His volunteerism produced a beautiful and easily maintained website, and it also saved the District what could have been thousands of dollars in expenses for software and hosting services.


Todd’s Backstory:

When the District 4 President reached out to me a couple of years ago about the possibility of creating a modern website for District 4, I was thrilled. Over the last 40 years there have been so many folks in the bridge community that have done so much for me, it was time to give back.

Born and raised in Duluth Minnesota, my family enjoyed playing lots of card games including 500 (close to Bridge) and cribbage. I graduated college from The University of Minnesota with an Electrical Engineering degree and then was commissioned into the Air Force. First assignment was in Sunnyvale CA. One day in 1985, Major Bob Baltz asked around to see if folks would like to learn to play bridge. Later that evening I met ACBL accredited teacher Janet McDonald and a group of around 8 beginners for lessons. Janet was a great teacher and I immediately loved the game and joined the ACBL. She also had a game of around 8 tables at her senior center and after a few lessons I was invited to attend. It took quite a few more weeks of play until eventually I earned my first point. To this day I have that first point in script form (remember those). Janet engraved a congratulations message on a tree stump shaped piece of wood with my first point glossed on the surface.

A few months later, I graduated to the Saturday afternoon intermediate game in San Jose, California,  where I met my wife Bobette. The first time we played together we had a really fun board that was eventually written up in the bridge column of the NY Times  (see article below).  Bobette and I made a lot of bridge friends and traveled to quite a few tournaments.  We then got married and started a family of 4 kids, significantly reducing our time at the bridge table for the next 30 years. For many years my day job has consisted of being the computer architect of large data systems for a firm in Valley Forge, PA. Like bridge, I love computer programming and 10 years ago I started building websites in the evenings for recreation. The recreation soon became a moon lighting business and so I was perfectly setup to contribute to the game and community that I love – bridge and the ACBL.  I am honored to be selected to be a District 4 Goodwill Committee Member.

todd_and_bobette_met

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