Caroline Cook ’15: While many students were enjoying warm weather and vacations with their families this past summer, one of EA’s own faculty members was receiving a national title in the game of bridge. Anne Ravreby, Director of Health Services, earned the highest national ranking in bridge, also known as the “Life Master” title.
Ravreby has been competing for almost ten years now, first picking up the game when her youngest child went off to college. She explained that much of her skill came from night classes as well asfromtheinstructionofherhusband,a bridge player since high school. “Having been an athlete in school, where I liked to run and overpower people, in bridge, I could be beaten by a twelve year old or taken to the ground by a 95 year old. It’s just amazing!” Ravreby exclaimed. She went on to detail the various levels of the game,including regular social bridge in addition to the more competitive duplicate bridge. The competitions Ravreby participates in involve partnerships of players sitting across from one another, north-south or east-west, in a room with, “up to seventy tables if it’s a tournament.” So not only are the players competing against the other pair at their table, but also against the rest of players in the entire room.
“It’s hard!” Ravreby explained with a pause before repeating, “It’s hard! There is a lot of probability and percentage, and you have to remember the cards that are played. There are combinations that you play in order to win the trick so I’m exhausted by the time were done.” A usual game last three to four hours, which might explain her fatigue.
Similar to the way sports are organized into Varsity, JV and Freshman teams, Bridge is split up into A, B, and C Teams, determined by the number of points that a player receives. “When I started I was a C player because I had zero points, but then I got a certain number of points and it adds up over time,” Ravreby explained. However, in order for her to earn the title of Life Master, she needed a total number of points between 400 and 500. In addition, within those points, there has to be a certain color distribution. “You can go and play at your local country club and at local bridge clubs to win black points. They are local points. Then you win red points and that’s at sectionals, for example the Philadelphia area. And then there’s silver and gold points and that’s only at nationals or regionals.”
At these national games, because there are so many players, if someone wins they only gain a fraction of a point, which is exactly what Ravreby needed to win. “Last year I went to the Philadelphia National Bridge Tournament and I had it. I was winning and winning, I said, ‘This is it. I only needed 1.25 points.’ The last game I was playing a sixteen year old and an eighteen year old from New York City,” she stated with emphasis, “They sat down and blew me away and I said, ‘REALLY?!’ So they won and I lost.”
“I had to wait a whole year, but I just got the title this past summer!” Ravreby exclaimed, a smile appearing on her face. She continued, “Bridge is fun! And you can constantly learn.” As a resurgence of the game has recently begun to spread around schools across the country, Nurse Ravreby highly recommends that everyone in the EA community join her by reaching out and trying a hand at bridge.