It’s a Thursday and the parking lot surrounding the Tryon Youth Center is packed.
Inside almost 80 avid bridge players tightly grasp cards as they mull over their next move.
“For some of these people this makes their week,” said organizer Sally Jo Carter. “They meet people to play with and they get to know each other and the game better.”
All around Carter, players chuckle in glee over a clever play and slap hands across foreheads in frustration. For many, the game is social – they nibble on snacks and sip coffee as they talk about their lives.
“I have made so many friends here,” said Ken Yeager.
That’s why most Thursdays you’ll see some tables work their way through three hands quickly, while others get a bit more caught up in chatting.
“I like the snacks,” Mickey Brandstadler of Mill Spring joked. “It’s also one of the cheapest forms of entertainment.”
For others it’s more serious, with their focus on gaining Master life points and learning new strategy. This gathering isn’t just a few friends getting together over cards, it is a sanctioned American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) game with about 72 players each week.
Carter took over what was once a group of no more than four tables of players in 1992, after retiring from work as a schoolteacher. She continued on with teaching but this time she taught adult after adult how to play bridge.
What exactly is duplicate bridge?
Duplicate bridge is a game in which competitors at each table play with the same arrangement of the 52 cards into four hands. Scoring is based on performance compared to those playing the same hands you are playing.
Two friends from Spartanburg traveled to Tryon a week ago, as they do almost every week, to play bridge and learn from Carter.
“We like the game and think Sally Jo is a great teacher,” said Sandra Parker.
“It’s a nice group to play bridge with – everyone is really friendly.”
Helen and Chuck Trevathan of Columbus agreed the camaraderie from playing each week means the most.
On this Thursday there are 18 tables of four players each, and Carter said this was a slow Thursday. She said she has organized as many as 24 tables for a single morning game.
Carter delights in both teaching the game and bringing the people together. She said she hopes people can see that gatherings like this are beneficial for the whole community, not just those who love the game.
“I told them they could have my funeral right here between the morning and noon sessions – everybody would already be here,” Carter said with a lighthearted laugh.