Finding People To Play Bridge With If You Are Under 60

I am a younger person, i.e. under the age of 50. I am finding that bridge is a game for older people, or at least mostly so. In trying to contact bridge clubs in my region I have been finding that most of the games happen mid-day, say Noon or 1 pm. The average bridge game can go for 3 hours, so it seems most people playing would rather do this before dinner, rather than after. I work during the day, so that is going to be problematic for me, but I will persist. I have also put in calls to several people listed as either bridge teachers or directors of bridge clubs, but have not heard back from them yet.

Some clubs only meet seasonally, usually not in the Winter, leaving me to believe that people who play go South for the Winter. It does seem, too, from reviewing the tournament schedules on various league websites, that it is a migratory sport. People not only travel to play in these competitions, but they also go on bridge cruises. This may end up being a more expensive activity than I thought. By the time you pay for hotels, gas, food and entry fees, you've just gone on mini-vacation! I am determined to make this a sexy, fun and cool bridge club too. Why does bridge only have to be for seniors?

I know a lot of people who play poker these days, but they usually want to play for money. I talked to a younger friend, Pete, about the club I was forming. I asked him if he knew how to play bridge. He said no, but he liked card games. The first thing he asked about the club was if we would be playing for money. I said no, not yet, at least. I wasn't good enough at this point (smile) In fact, I haven't even played yet. But he's a young dad and always thinking about how he can make some extra money for his family. I hadn't even thought about money, in-terms of this club, but maybe down the line we might have our own tournament. First I have to find someone to play with!

How do you find bridge partners? Do you advertise? One of the leagues has a "partners desk", but I think that is just for tournaments. There is a club, about an hour away, that does meet on a day and time that I can, so I am going to try to go there on Wednesday afternoon. I'll see if I can't find some real, live people playing bridge. Well, they don't have to be very alive, but a pulse would be nice. We'll see, maybe I can make bridge cool again? That would be fun. I heard Omar Sharif loves to play bridge. Is he still alive? He was a pre-teen crush of mine. I wouldn't turn him away from my table (wink)