How Unit Championship Games Differ from Regular Saturday Games at Kona Bridge Club

Updated

A Unit Championship game is a separate event from the club's regular Saturday open game: it can replace the normal Saturday game (the site notes this happens during the summer), it may be scheduled on either a Saturday or a Sunday depending on the season, and it has its own sign-up form rather than the standard Saturday game form. The practical rule is to check the posted dates before you plan to play, because a Saturday you expect to be a regular open game may actually be a Unit game — or the Unit game may fall on a Sunday instead.

Side-by-side comparison

Dimension Regular Saturday game Unit Championship game
What it is The club's standard open duplicate game A unit-level championship event hosted at the club
Day Saturday Saturday or Sunday, depending on the season
Relationship to the Saturday schedule The default Saturday game May replace the normal Saturday game (notably in summer)
How you sign up The Saturday Game sign-up form A separate "Unit Championship Game" sign-up form
Start time and arrival 1:00 pm; arrive by 12:45 Not stated on the page — confirm before attending
Partner requests Enter "Needs Partner" plus your phone or email in the partner slot Same convention applies to the Unit form

What stays the same

Both events are run by the Kona Bridge Club, an ACBL-sanctioned non-profit serving the duplicate bridge community on the Big Island. Sign-up works the same way in practice: you register in advance with your name and your partner's name, or write "Needs Partner" together with contact details (for example, "John Doe & Needs Partner 808-555-1212") so another player can reach you directly. The confirmation list on each form shows who is already paired, which is the quickest way to see whether a partner is still needed.

How to avoid showing up on the wrong day

  1. Check the club's posted game listings for the specific date before you plan to play — the page explicitly warns that a unit game may replace the normal Saturday game in summer and that Unit games may be Saturday or Sunday depending on the season.
  2. Match the form to the event: use the Saturday Game form for a regular open game and the Unit Championship Game form for the championship event.
  3. Sign up in advance and arrive by 12:45 for the 1:00 pm start; on Wednesdays, do not enter the school grounds before 12:30.
  4. If you need a partner, put "Needs Partner" plus your phone or email in the partner field and watch the confirmed list.

One example

Suppose you want to play on a Saturday in late October. The listings show a Saturday Game on October 24 and a separate Unit Championship Game on October 31 — a Saturday that month. In a summer month, the same slot might be filled by a unit game instead, or the unit game might move to Sunday. Reading the date entries, not the weekday, is what tells you which event you are signing up for.

Practical takeaway

Treat the Unit Championship game as its own event with its own date and form. Before any Saturday session, confirm on the site whether that date is a regular open game or a unit game, and sign up through the matching form. The page does not state a separate start time or entry fee for Unit games, so verify those details with the club rather than assuming they match the regular Saturday game.