[barmar]

Since the median age of US bridge players is close to 60, he's still a young whipper-snapper.

[skjaeran]

barmar, on Aug 16 2008, 05:44 AM, said:

Since the median age of US bridge players is close to 60, he's still a young whipper-snapper.

60, is that really correct?

I thought it was 65 3-4 years ago, and going up.

[PeterGill]

Harald, you are right about 3-4 years ago. However in 2007 if I am correctly informed, the ACBL made a sound profit, increased its number of young players,
made plans to hold its first Youth NABC (which was held in June 2008)
and decreased its average age. Times change.

Peter Gill
Australia

[y66]

Thanks for the scoop about Larry Cohen. This is exciting news for Sontag fans.

[Gerben42]

Too bad there isn't a junior pair on both sides. Good that we have two young players on our side, though. Why not in the US?

[han]

Gerben42, on Aug 16 2008, 10:42 AM, said:

Why not in the US?

See jdonn's reply above.

[Gerben42]

Josh is not the only US junior, and I think any serious junior player should not turn down playing in a tournament of this level.

Any salary you might miss is worth less than the experience. If you feel differently, that's your decision of course.

[TimG]

Gerben42, on Aug 16 2008, 11:35 AM, said:

Josh is not the only US junior, and I think any serious junior player should not turn down playing in a tournament of this level.

Is this a weekend event, or would it require time away from a non-bridge job? Or, are you suggesting that any "serious" junior player must be making a living from bridge?

[mike777]

http://www.buffettcup.com/EventDetails/tab...US/Default.aspx

Timetable

The timetable for this year's event is as follows:

Mon Sept 15th: Opening Ceremony: Buffett Cup Day 1 (2 sessions)

Tues Sept 16th: Buffett Cup Day 2 (2 sessions)

Weds Sept 17th Buffett Cup Day 3 (2 sessions)

Thurs Sept 18th Buffett Cup Day 4 (1 session): Closing Banquet

[fred]

I doubt very much that Josh was in any way serious.

I suspect that any USA Junior player, even those who play professionally, would feel honored to be asked to play in this event and would accept such an invitation without second thought (provided of course that they did not already have unchangable plans for the time in which the tournament is scheduled).

While it is probably the case that some professional players in the USA are basically mercenaries, most are not. In my experience the mercenary attitude among some pros tends to form later in life. Most Juniors still love the game so much that being paid to play is a secondary consideration to having the opportunity to play in exceptional events.

Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com

[han]

Oh I thought it was so clear that Josh was joking, I guess I should have been more careful.

[gwnn]

As a rough guideline, most of han's (and some other posters') posts where he doesn't use smileys and end in a period are at least partially facetious.

[JoAnneM]

As of 6/30 the average age in ACBL was 68.56. District 1 (eastern Canada) was youngest at 65.46, and District 9 (Florida) was oldest at 71.68. I don't know what the mean age was. My District is among the oldest at 69.70 but I am glad to say I am under that (barely).

Alan Sontag's "The Bridge Bum" was one of the first bridge books I ever read and I still chuckle.

[pclayton]

Aren't they at least getting hotel and airfare for this?

[Rossoneri]

Oh dear I just realised I won't be able to catch some of the action since I will be on a 13 hour flight to London on the 17th.

Phil: That's a good question. Who are the sponsors?

[JoAnneM]

In our District it was money from the Buffet-Gates Bridge Foundation (name?) that made bridge classes in the Hawaii schools possible with a very positive result. After a huge fundraising campaign by the Hawaiian Units 11 juniors were sent to Atlanta, some of them very new players, and they all earned points and had a great time. All it takes is a couple of dedicated volunteers (like Busaba Williams of Hawaii) to get these things going. Sorry I am preaching.

[fred]

pclayton, on Aug 18 2008, 04:41 PM, said:

Aren't they at least getting hotel and airfare for this?

I played in the first Buffett Cup (in Dublin a couple of years ago).

Our expenses were covered and, in general, we were treated like royalty by our wonderful Irish hosts. Among the many nice things they did for us: free tickets to watch the Ryder Cup (which I suspect were very expensive).

I don't know where the money to pay for all of this came from or if expenses will be covered for this year's Buffett Cup (but I am guessing yes).

Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com

[hrothgar]

JoAnneM, on Aug 18 2008, 07:22 PM, said:

As of 6/30 the average age in ACBL was 68.56. District 1 (eastern Canada) was youngest at 65.46, and District 9 (Florida) was oldest at 71.68. I don't know what the mean age was. My District is among the oldest at 69.70 but I am glad to say I am under that (barely).

Alan Sontag's "The Bridge Bum" was one of the first bridge books I ever read and I still chuckle.

Thanks for publishing this information

I don't suppose that you have any information about the rate of change in the mean membership age?

What was the mean membership age in 2001? 2002? ...

There's no (real) problem with having an old membership. However, if the average age of the membership is increasing rapidly over time this is very problematic.

For example, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is 70. Furthermore, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is increasing by .5 years, each year. Furthermore, lets (hypothetically) assume that ACBL drop off the face of the earth at age 78. This says that we're going to encounter some very real problems in 16 years or so.

BTW, its often more useful to study the median membership age rather than the mean. In particular, if you have a large demographic buldge working its way through the system its useful to know when that cadre will exit. (I run these types of models a lot at work. They're very useful for planning purposes)

[jdonn]

hrothgar, on Aug 18 2008, 12:46 PM, said:

For example, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is 70. Furthermore, lets assume that the average age of ACBL members is increasing by .5 years, each year. Furthermore, lets (hypothetically) assume that ACBL drop off the face of the earth at age 78. This says that we're going to encounter some very real problems in 16 years or so.

But what if average life expectancy is increasing by .5 years each year?