Local bridge organizations marathon to fight Alzheimer’s

Hutton Marshall | Uptown Editor

Even for those in their youth, the looming threat of Alzheimer’s Disease strikes fear into many in throughout our country. Today, more than five million people are living with the disease in the U.S., and it’s the country’s sixth leading cause of death.

And with someone in the U.S. developing Alzheimer’s every 67 seconds, those entering their golden years rightfully worry about its onset. Thankfully, the fight against Alzheimer’s doesn’t have to be as villainous as the disease itself. In fact, members of the Redwood Bridge Club, along with the San Diego Bridge Academy housed within it, say many of its patrons fight Alzheimer’s every day they play at the club.

Players there have dubbed Bridge, a four-person card game played worldwide, as “aerobics for the mind.” Keeping the mind active and engaged, especially in one’s later years, has been shown to ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

“Basically, there’s two different ways you can use your mind: One is passive thinking; one is active thinking,” said David Walters, the bridge academy’s director. “Reading would be passive thinking, but playing a game like bridge would be active thinking, so anything that involves active thinking is good—just like you need to exercise your body, you also need to exercise your mind.”

So while combatting Alzheimer’s is arguably ever-present at Redwood, on Saturday, June 21 — the summer solstice — the club and academy will ramp up their efforts. Joining a nationwide campaign called “The Longest Day,” the club will host bridge activities from sunrise to sunset to fundraise for the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Studies have shown strong links between games, such as bridge, and successful aging,” stated Robert Hartman, CEO of the American Contract Bridge League, in a release for the fundraiser. “The game alone challenges and stimulates mental acuity, but there’s also a strong social aspect that can aid with successful aging. With support from our members … we can continue raising awareness and funds for the disease and hopefully introduce bridge to a new audience that can benefit from the mental stimulation.”

Held appropriately on the longest day of the year, the bridge club will open its doors from 5:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., holding several rounds of bridge, as well as a couple meals and other activities, in order to entice the community to come play and donate to the cause.

“Since this is our first year to participate, I don’t anticipate a huge crowd — perhaps a hundred or so — but this will be the first in a string of annual ‘Longest Day’ events,” said Redwood’s Stuart Showalter, co-director of the event.

The bridge academy will also hold several classes, as well as preparing a large dinner for the club’s patrons. Walter said the academy will donate 50 percent of proceeds from the day’s classes to the charity drive.

The Alzheimer’s Association recommended Redwood set their target fundraising goal at $1,600, but Showalter reported that — two weeks before the event — Redwood has already secured $1,700 in donations. This in part is because of to donations from Harvey Milk’s American Diner, local Starbucks branches and Sycuan Casino.

Redwood will open its doors for 15 hours that day, and although games would not be constant throughout the day, Walters said that amount of bridge is no easy feat, especially considering the average age at the Redwood Bridge Club is around 65, with members as old as 100.

“Endurance is definitely a factor with that amount of bridge,” Walters said. “When I was playing competitively, I would limit myself to two rounds a day, which was about eight hours.”

Last year, 160 bridge clubs nationwide rallied behind the American Contract Bridge League to raise more than half a million dollars for the Alzheimer’s Association. The Redwood Bridge Club and the San Diego Bridge Academy hope to help surpass that amount this year. Those interested in learning more about participating in The Longest Day event may contact Trish White at [email protected] or Stuart Showalter at [email protected].