The Sedona-Oak Creek Duplicate Bridge Club was started in 1971 and is still going strong and is playing Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesdays, 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley 100 Meadow Lark Drive. Online games are scheduled at 11 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays with some occasional online games over the weekend.
“Bridge is a card game, and there are multiple versions of it,” Club Manager Pat McCreary who has been involved in the club since 2019 said. “There’s a totally social version of it, and then there’s duplicate bridge, where it’s a little more competitive.”
“When people play bridge, they usually end up playing it for the rest of their lives and still find new and fun things in it,” McCreary said. “If you like to play bridge, then the Sedona Bridge Club would be a good thing to join. If you don’t, we have been teaching some classes to try to teach people to play. It does take a commitment, but if you enjoy bridge, it’s a lot of fun.”
To enable a fair comparison of playing skill, the Sedona group plays duplicate bridge, which involves duplicating the identical bridge hand at each of the other tables. It’s a social game and the club also recognizes its members usually during its annual December meeting with the Mimi Esser Annual Goodwill Award that goes to the member that supported the club the most, this year it bestowed on Cy Elliot a retired pharmacist and club member for the last 10 years.
With the help of a grant from the city of Sedona, the Sedona Bridge Center are expanding their learning days to every Thursday. Pete Stedman, from left, Patrick Howlett, Amy Light and Aileen Lee play bridge.
“I’ve been there about 10 years. I was a pharmacist,” Elliot said. “We run classes. We have another group coming in now, the people from well walks away, one of the people I play was a prosecutor in San Diego … there’s all kinds of people that belong.”
There’s no membership fee but there is a $7 game fee that portions of go back to the community.
“We’ve been giving out two scholarships every year” to Sedona Red High school seniors, McCreary said. “We used to play at the Elks Club, and some of the members of the bridge club were also Elks, and they had a scholarship program. Kind of to support the Elks, we got into supporting their scholarship fund. Then we kind of parted ways with the Elks, and we just wanted to continue doing the scholarship fund.”
The scholarship money is raised from the game fee, and most recently bridge club member Annette Pettit presented Israel Montanez and Angi Yin scholarships during the Sedona Red Rock High School Scholarship Awards on May 19, 2025.
Additionally, several members tutor throughout the year.
“We have been doing classes. One of our members is teaching a class right now,” McCreary said. “Last year, we started with the beginner class, and they’ve been advancing to higher levels to get better so they feel more comfortable playing against some of the better players.”
“The people that belong to the club are generally civically active people in the community,” Elliott said.
“Maybe learn a little bit about trick-taking games,” McCreary said to prospective first timers. “Maybe try out playing spades, for example. That’s a good step into bridge; if you enjoy that, then bridge is the next step up. The rules of bridge are fairly simple, but it can get very intricate and difficult to do really well at it.”
“When we’re playing, it’s obviously social,” McCreary said. “We occasionally will have a Christmas party, and once in a while we’ll get together outside of the club. But the game itself is social in that you’re sitting at the table with other people and talking.”
“You do have to have a partner when you come to play, and if you don’t have a partner, we have somebody who can help try to find you a partner,” McCreary said.
While the club doesn’t cur r ent ly have any beginner-level classes, it will offer it again once there is demand from the community. Several members competed in the Land of Enchantment Regional Tournament in Albuquerque that took place Monday through Sunday, Jan. 12 through 18, with previous outings to similar larger profile competitions.
“Sometimes, we have what are called Pro- Am games where you get a very experienced player playing with an inexperienced player,” McCreary said. “One of my very favorite memories is when I was a really inexperienced player and didn’t know what I was doing. I ended up getting partnered with Carolyn Blecha, who was only a modestly experienced player, and it was a very big game. We played against a lot of people, and we came in first. That was fun.”
For more information visit bridgewebs.com/sedona or call (760) 317- 0900, if you’re looking for a bridge partner you can call (928) 274-6161.
