Life mastery might sound like the title of a weekend leadership conference on learning how to unleash one’s hidden potential. But for the dedicated duplicate bridge players in Fountain Hills, it’s a lofty status of one who has accumulated enough masterpoints to be deemed a bridge master; an opportunity that some are hoping to achieve at the upcoming Phoenix NLM Gold Rush Regional and Silver Sun Sectional Duplicate Bridge Tournament.

“For people who are trying to achieve life mastership, the Gold Rush Regional is for them,” JoAnne Lowe said, chair of the upcoming duplicate bridge tournament scheduled for Friday through Sunday, April 28-30, at the Community Center.

At this event, two tournaments will be held simultaneously. The Gold Rush Regional is for non-life masters with less than 750 points seeking to accumulate gold and red points. The Silver Sun Sectional is open to anyone looking to accumulate silver points. Players must acquire a combination of colored points to achieve the status of a life master.

There is no pre-registration required to enter this tournament; simply walk in and sign up in person. The event will feature food trucks on Friday and Saturday, complimentary coffee, tea, snacks and chocolate.

“Yes, chocolates,” Lowe said. “Chocolates are big. And we provide wrapped candies.”

Lowe has lived in Fountain Hills for over 20 years and has served as the Unit 354 regional and sectional tournament chair for the past 12 years.

“Our unit belongs to District 17, becoming Region 10, which encompasses all of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Las Vegas and a little corner in Wyoming and El Paso,” she said. “We’re huge for a district.”

Locals prepared

Many of the Fountain Hills Bridge Club members who play at the Community Center every Monday at noon and organized by longtime bridge player, Stephanie Haddy, are planning to attend the April tournament.

Barbara Leavitt is one of such players, who took a 25-year hiatus from playing bridge but decided to return to the table game 10 years ago. She drives from Scottsdale to play duplicate bridge because, “I like Stephanie and she runs a nice game and this is a nice facility.”

Leavitt most enjoys the social aspect and the mental stimulation of the game.

“First, you become a life master and then you learn to play bridge,” Leavitt said, who became a life master last year. “There's a quest for points and then you realize, ‘Okay, now I have all these points and I really don't know what I'm doing.’ So, then you concentrate on trying to get better at the game.”

Sharon Brodhun and Helen Whatmough have known each other for 12 years and are looking forward to playing together at the upcoming tournament.

“It’s the camaraderie with people and the friends we meet and see,” Brodhun said. “It’s just a friendly place to be and you get to meet a lot of people from surrounding communities.”

“There's some people here who have thousands of points. Other people don't even have any. So, it's a nice variety,” Whatmough said, Brodhun’s bridge partner.

Larry Haddy started playing bridge in law school and will serve an important function at the upcoming tournament.

“What I do is, basically, if somebody doesn’t show up for some reason or an extra person shows up, I’m the one that takes on the partnership,” Haddy said. “I’ve gotta be pretty flexible by playing with different people. Different people play different games.”

Lowe is looking forward to a fun-filled weekend that offers bridge players of all levels a chance at earning tournament points.

“There are a lot of bridge players out there. A lot of them play among their friends, you know, just social kinds of bridge,” she said. “But this is a little more competitive.”

Competitive is right, as Lowe explains the process of “buying” a pro bridge player to play with at tournaments.

“If you have enough money, you can buy the best in the country,” she said.

Newbies welcome

Despite the high-flying bridge players and pursuit of life mastery, the barrier to entry for those new to the game is low. Years ago, unit 354 adopted the beginner-friendly policy that any member of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) with less than 10 points can play at the tournament at no cost.

To become a member, ACBL offers a free, 120-day guest membership for anyone interested in joining by visiting acbl.org/guest-join.

“We’re trying to appeal to anybody out there that’s a bridge player,” Lowe said. “We certainly welcome anybody to come and play duplicate bridge.”

Jessie Brunswig has been playing bridge for 47 years; time which she has used to achieve the status of diamond life master.

“I love bridge. It saved my life a couple times,” Brunswig said. “The first time it saved my life was when my daughter became paralyzed and it allowed me some space so that I wasn’t just caregiving totally.

“The second time was when I got a divorce. I was devastated. I wanted to be married forever, so that didn’t happen…But bridge has been there for me.”

Brunswig enjoys traveling around the world playing bridge, making new eclectic bridge-playing friends and enjoying life to the fullest.

“I’m almost 80, so you know, time slips away if you don’t do what you dream,” Brunswig said.

The Community Center is a non-smoking facility located at 13001 N. La Montana Dr. Parking is free and sessions are held at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily.

As a rule, ACBL tournaments require players to show proof of vaccination upon entry.

For more information about the upcoming Phoenix NLM Gold Rush Regional and Silver Sun Sectional, contact JoAnne Lowe at 480-577-9833 or by emailing pnutlowe@cox.net.

Players looking for partners can contact Bill Carstens at 480-572-5474 or by emailing partnership.unit354@gmail.com and acbl.org/guest-join for a free, 120-day ACBL membership.