"Gators are the most fun you can have playing bridge. Yes, even more fun than Calcuttas!"

Gators are a very archaic knockout tourney format, harkening back to the days of Bridge Whist. Indeed, I doubt that there has been one in the last 70 years. They dropped out of sight because they were an owner participation spectator event; Face-To-Face venues simply couldn't handle so many onlookers. Try to imagine, in the days before VuGraph and online bridge, 100 or more spectactors huddled around a single bridge table. Can't be done.

As one wit put it: "Gators declined in popularity because they were too popular!"

But doesn't such fan interest sound perfect for online bridge?

Here is how a Gator works:

• People buy shares in players (in our case, 1 Commentator or guest celebrity and, perhaps, hir regular student partner).
  
  
• A knockout team event follows, with these owners making all of the decisions for their team.
  
  
• Any team you beat becomes yours, lock, stock and barrel. That includes its players.
  
  
• The final standings are:
  
  
• 1st = The team that wins all of its matches
  
  
• 2nd = Whoever lost to the Winner last
  
  
• 3rd = Whoever lost to the Winner second last
  
  
• 4th = Whoever lost to the Winner third last
  
  
• 5th = Whoever lost to the Winner fourth last
  
  

So even though your team is eliminated, you still have a vested interest in helping the team that eliminated yours. Indeed, you are part of that team!

That is all there is to running a normal Gator. Ours would be revised slightly to ensure at least 50% student player participation.

16 celebrity players (or pairs) are invited. Gators are team events, but we start with 16 players (or pairs). Ours would comprise one Celebrity and, perhaps, one "Student" (for our purposes, "Student" means at least one Lehman rating under 55%). Our supporters are then encouraged to buy shares (at $50 per share) in the pair of their choice. The number of shares is unlimited, so each pair can have any number of owners.

The first job of the owners is to get enough players to make up a team. Typically, the owners would find these extra players within their own ranks. There is only one restriction: No team can have more than one "Ringer" (i.e. any player with both Lehmans over 57%) in the first round. In this way a Celebrity with a Lehman rating under 57% becomes a real bargain: the owners are free to get anyone--Zia himself, if he's willing--to fill out the team!

The team with the most shares sold gets to pick their opponent. Second highest chooses next, etc. The teams play 10 boards, have a short break, bring in replacements (if any), then play another ten boards. Ties are broken with 2 board playoffs until there is a winner.

Now the fun begins. The victorious team inherits the line-up of the vanquished. So the losing team can directly help the cause. In the second and subsequent rounds the teams can have two Ringers (one at each table, playing with their student partners) in play. Again, the owners of the surviving teams make all personnel decisions. There are no limits on the number of substitutions made during each round.

The winners continue to gobble up their eliminated opponents (hence the term "Gator"), adding them to the fold. Consider the spectator interest that this will generate, with the owners cheering on their teams or the ones who beat their teams. Even in the final, eight teams will still have a vested interest in the outcome.

For $50, the owners get to play (if they decide to) or be Non-Playing Captains ("NPCs"). One can own any number of shares in any number of teams. Unless the owners of a team come to some other agreement matters will be decided by the majority; one vote per share.

Thank you for helping us make history: the first Gator of the new century!

The schedule for our 2002 First Annual Fireside Gator Tourney was:

9:30 A.M. PST	Opening Ceremonies	Saturday, February 16th
10:00 A.M. PST	Round #1 (Qualifying)	Saturday, February 16th
2:00 P.M. PST	Round #2 (Quarterfinal)	Saturday, February 16th
10:00 A.M. PST	Round #3 (Semi-Finals)	Sunday, February 17th
2:00 P.M. PST	Round #4 (Final)	Sunday, February 17th

At 9:30 A.M. PST on Saturday, February 16th, 2002, a half hour before game time, we all met at Believer's table for greetings, questions and the selection of opponents. It all started at Believer's!

Only on OKBridge!

If this turns out to be even half as much fun as we think it will be, though, don't be too surprised to see Gator tourneys on Swan Games and E-Bridge soon!

This event is to promote online bridge teaching. All proceeds go to the Fireside Fund.

There were prizes for the owners of the winning teams and a trophy plaque for the first place finishers.