“One diamond.” “One heart.” “One no-trump.” “Four hearts.” “Pass, pass, pass.”
And so the bidding goes – repeated across dozens of tables, for three days, as players from across the Southeast converge on Highlands for one of the season’s most competitive tournaments.
The Highlands Duplicate Bridge Club’s annual Mother’s Day Sectional Tournament returns May 7–9 to the Highlands Recreation Center, drawing everyone from teenagers to players in their nineties. The field routinely includes participants from Atlanta, Charlotte, Tennessee, and beyond – drawn by the tournament’s reputation, the mountain setting, and the chance to earn silver points that matter on the national stage. This year adds two features worth noting. The tournament will award extra silver master points, rankings that carry greater weight than the black points earned at weekly club games and are among the most important measures of achievement in tournament play.
And nationally recognized bridge educator Robert Todd of Florida will offer free lessons Thursday and Friday mornings from 8:30 to 9:00 A.M. at the Recreation Center. No registration required — just show up and sharpen your game before play begins.
Dr. Robert Buchanan, club president of this event, traces organized bridge in Highlands back to the 1990s. The Highlands Duplicate Bridge Club brought the tournament to its current home in 2013, and it has grown steadily, regularly drawing up to 200 players on Thursday and Friday and 120 on Saturday.
Unlike casual party bridge, duplicate bridge emphasizes skill and consistency rather than chance, with every table playing the identical hands, dealt by machine and set in racks. Participants compete against everyone who sat in the same seat, making the results directly comparable across the room. The tournament is sanctioned by the American Contract Bridge League, the national governing body for competitive bridge.
Three simultaneous games run Thursday and Friday, pair games and bracketed team games, organized by experience level, with one flight open to all, one limited to players under 299 master points, and one for seasoned players above that threshold. Saturday features bracketed Swiss teams all day, with lunch served on-site so no one has to leave the table.
Entry is straightforward: walk in, find the registration desk, and declare your combined master points. Pair games Thursday and Friday run $30 per couple; Saturday’s all-day Swiss teams, including lunch, are $180 for a team of four – well below the national average for sectional tournaments.
For more information, visit highlandsduplicatebridgeclub.com or bridgewebs.com/highlands.
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