Bridging the gap: Seniors keeping sharp with regular card play

Erica D. Johnson

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 9:27 a.m.

It's difficult to maintain complete silence in a room of more than 550 people.

But players could hear a pin drop in a ballroom at the Plaza downtown Thursday, where a 70-year-old bridge association held an open pairs game.

The game was the first in a tournament held by the American Bridge Association, a predominantly black bridge group with chapters nationwide. The tournament, which began Thursday, is scheduled to last until Monday.

The association's Western region, which includes chapters in Nevada, Arizona and California, sponsored the event.

The section tournament is held in Las Vegas each Veterans Day weekend. The spring national tournament will take place at the Riviera April 5-7.

Players paid $8 per game to participate.

Most of the association's players are retired or senior citizens, tournament organizers said. They said the game keeps the minds of elderly people sharp.

The Desert Wins, the association's Las Vegas chapter, has been meeting each Wednesday at the Las Vegas Senior Center for the past 13 years, Jo Crenshaw, the chapter's president, said.

"It gives seniors something to do," she said. "Bridge is a brainpower game similar to chess. It makes you think and it forces them to remember things. Bridge players become addicted. They just love it."

Ida Simms, a member of the Western section who came to the tournament from Los Angeles, has been a member of the association for eight years.

"The game is good for older people because it increases mental agility and camaraderie," Simms said. "It builds mental focus for both old and young people."

The group planned a workshop today to teach younger players the basics of the game.

"People bring their grandchildren to the tournament," Gloria Lee Ray, also from Los Angeles, said. "The game keeps senior citizens going but we're also looking for young people to join."

The bridge group was formed in Virginia in 1932 when four tennis players were denied membership in what was then the all-white American Contract Bridge League, Richard Bowling, the association's national president, said.

The associations's headquarters are based in Atlanta.

"There are bridge groups all over the world, but the most interesting thing about this group is that this is a predominantly African American association that has so much history," Bowling said.

Since its formation, the association has grown to about 4,500 members nationwide. Both groups now accept members of all races.

"Our members span the gamut from doctors to judges to teachers to ditch diggers," Bowling said. "When you get that many types of people in the same room, you get the feeling that you're doing something right."