Duplicate Bridge in Hot Springs Village
An Original History by Ross Mullaney
(with revisions by Jan Farnsworth)

The first duplicate bridge in Hot Springs Village was played under the auspices of the Duplicate Bridge Club of Hot Springs Village, formed in 1976 and providing one duplicate game per month through 1979. Most of the 75 members were women. By 1985, with assistance and support of Janet Davis and Louise Dickerson the number of games played grew to eight games every four weeks, all played at Coronado Center.

On March 1, 1985, the Village Card Club (VCC) was formed. The original goal was to create an umbrella group for all card clubs in the Village. However, this did not come to pass and the VCC has remained exclusively a bridge club, acknowledged in 1991 as the largest bridge club in Arkansas.

In early 1985 the VCC provided three Open games every week, then added games for the Novice players. The Club membership list totaled 85. In September of that year the first teaching program was introduced. Continued interest and growth led to the addition of an Intermediate game, a rubber bridge game, a teaching game, a Swiss Pairs Marathon and more Open games so that, by 1991, the VCC was providing ten games every week for its members.

In September of 1991, the VCC moved all its games to the newly opened Ouachita Activities Building in Ponce de Leon Center. In 1992 Club membership neared the 600 mark and computerized scoring for all games was introduced in October of that year. The total tables of bridge played during 1992 were about 5000. In 2002 the number of tables played rose to over 8600.

After several years of planning and interaction with the POA, members of the VCC saw the 1997 groundbreaking for a new card club building adjacent to the Ouachita Activities Building. Casa de Carta officially opened its doors in June of 1998. The new facilities included space for 42 bridge tables, two directors' work areas outfitted with state of the art computers, cabinets for storage of class materials and books, a blackboard for teachers, several bulletin boards, a large storage room, a kitchen with full facilities, restrooms, and a beautifully appointed lobby. Annual dues and costs of play remained the same for players and additional income was derived from tournaments and an outstanding educational program.

In 1993, the VCC undertook sponsorship of a sectional tournament. The tournament was held at the Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs over a three-day weekend. In 1994, the VCC sponsored another sectional tournament, the first of many that would be held in the Village. From 1994 until 2001 sectional tournaments were held annually at Coronado Center, thereafter at Ponce de Leon Center, utilizing Casa de Carta and oftentimes using additional space in the Ouachita Activities Building. In the early summer of 2002, the VCC hosted a Regional Tournament in Hot Springs at the Arlington Hotel. Because of the extensive work required in hosting a weeklong regional tournament, an individual club seldom undertakes it. The Village Card Club put forth the extra effort required and was rewarded with an exceptionally successful tournament.

In the early summer of 2002, the VCC hosted a Regional Tournament in Hot Springs at the Arlington Hotel. Regional tournaments are seldom undertaken by individual clubs but the Village Card Club put forth the extra effort required and was rewarded with an exceptionally successful tournament. Also for the second straight year, the VCC qualified for a three-star certificate issued by the ACBL for top performance in club growth, advanced teaching courses and innovative programs.

At the conclusion of the year 2003, membership in the Village Card Club numbered 852, including 157 Life Masters. The VCC hosted 8360 tables of bridge during the year 2003.

At the conclusion of the year 2004, membership in the Village Card Club numbered over 750 and included 160 Life Masters. The VCC hosted 8308 tables of bridge during the year 2004.

History of the Village Card Club Website:

In late 2000 or early 2001, I discovered a one page Web presence for the Village Card Club on a local realtors' site. The information was 2 years out-of-date. It consisted of a game schedule and a short history of the club.

I updated the information and moved the site to my personal Web space. Several club members thought that we should have our own domain name. The domain name was obtained (villagecardclub.org) and the 2-page site was moved to a commercial server.

As various members made requests, and I saw the need for additional content pages were added to the site. At some point, Frank Matthews and others requested posting games on the site. This effort greatly increased server utilization. Cindy Devish provided an increased amount of content during her presidency.

Although, an experienced programmer, Web programming was new to me. Over the last years, I have learned a tremendous amount about building and operating a Web site. Many of the pages viewed on the site employ server side processing. The recent addition of the Partnership application is an example. The partnership application was suggested by a member of the Little Rock duplicate club. (I also maintain the Little Rock site.)

The site is a resource for all members of the Village Card Club. As a sub site, there is a small presence for Unit 161. www.villagecardclub.org/unit161. Here you will find the unit officers plus the constitution and bylaws of the Unit. In late 2007, I created a separate site for Unit 161 (www.unit161.org). Items of interest to the entire Unit will be posted there.

More recently, the minutes of the board meetings were posted on the site increasing the membership access to the board of directors and their activities..

Richard Robertson, webmaster