The Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams bridge championship is held at the fall

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission ''"to promote, grow and sustain th ...

(ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC) and is a four session board-a-match event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions. The event typically starts on the first Sunday of the NABC and is restricted to female players.

History

The event was introduced in 1933 and was originally held at the winter NABC (there were only two NABCs - summer and winter). The original trophy was donated by

George Coffin George Sturgis Coffin (September 8, 1903 – March 12, 1994) was an American writer and publisher of books on bridge and other games and a distributor of related books and supplies. He was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, and died at Waltham–Wes ...

. Page 78. In 1963, it was moved to the spring NABC. In 1976, the board-a-match format was changed to a

knock-out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...

format. The board-a-match format was re-introduced in 1986. The event is now held at the fall NABCs. Dr. Jim Sternberg donated the current trophy in 2001 in memory of his wife, Marsha May Sternberg, who died in 2001 after a six-week battle with cancer.

Winners

Five champion teams defended their titles without any change in team personnel, on seven occasions: 1936, 1944–1946, 1961, 1975, and 2010. The four-time winners from 1943 to 1946 were Emily Folline,

Helen Sobel Helen Elizabeth Sobel Smith (''née'' Martin; May 22, 1909 – September 11, 1969) was an American bridge player. She is said to have been the "greatest woman bridge player of all time" and "may well have been the most brilliant card player of ...

Margaret Wagar Margaret Wagar (April 6, 1902 – January 6, 1990) was an American bridge player from Delaware, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. The premier American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) annual championship for women teams since 1976 is the Wagar Women's Kno ...

Sally Young Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting nam ...

. Folline and Sobel had been runners-up in 1942; Sobel also in 1941. The 1974–75 champions were the last for the board-a-match tournament as the premier championship for women teams. They won the premier championship again in 1976, its first under knockout conditions. (See

Wagar Women's Knockout Teams The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock-out team event. The event is restric ...

, for the Wagar Trophy that is named for one of the four-time board-a-match winners.)

References

;Other sources * "Search Results: Marsha May Sternberg Women's BAM Teams". 1986 to present. ACBL. Visi
"NABC Winners"
select a Fall NABC. Retrieved 2014-06-04. {{WPCBIndex North American Bridge Championships

History

Winners

See also

References