_____ "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 encourage student player participation in the first few rounds.

_____ 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, their favourite student partner. Supporters are then encouraged to buy shares (at $50 per share) in the player (or 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 60%) in the first round. In this way a Celebrity with a low Lehman rating becomes a real bargain: the owners might be free to get anyone--Zia himself, if he's willing--to fill out the team!

_____ In order to encourage student participation in the first rounds the following restrictions on the team's total IMPs Lehmans are in place:

• 1st Round = 210
  
  
• 2nd Round = 220
  
  
• 3rd Round = 230
  
  
• 4th Round = Unlimited!
  
  

_____ 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 (typically 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.

_____ You can even play as a non-voting owner by purchasing a part share. Just enter a decimal ($5 per tenth of a share) in the box beside the name of your chosen team. For example, $25 (".5" entered in the appropriate box) would buy you a half share and a place on the team of your choice.

_____ How much fun is a Gator? Consider the following facts from last year's Final Round:

• 260 people spectated the Final



• Many of these attendees stumbled onto it by accident



• Many kibitzers declared it "the event of the season"



• Spectactors provided impromptu commentary in Italian, English, French, Spanish, Polish and Russian



• 13 of the top players on OKBridge played in the Final



• Our "humble" Gator has emerged as the single biggest annual online bridge event in the world since the IWBC.

_____ Come help us keep history alive: the Second Annual Gator of the new century!

_____ The schedule for our Second Annual Fireside Gator Tourney is:

9:30 A.M. PST	Opening Ceremonies	Saturday, March 29th, 2003
10:00 A.M. PST	Round #1 (Qualifying)	Saturday, March 29th, 2003
2:00 P.M. PST	Round #2 (Quarterfinal)	Saturday, March 29th, 2003
10:00 A.M. PST	Round #3 (Semi-Finals)	Sunday, March 30th, 2003
2:00 P.M. PST	Round #4 (Final)	Sunday, March 30th, 2003

_____ At 9:30 A.M. PST on Saturday, March 29th, a half hour before game time, we will all meet at Moogal's table for greetings, questions and the selection of opponents. See you at Moogal's!

Only on OKBridge!

_____ If this continues to be as much fun as it was last year, 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 will be a trophy plaque for the first place finishers.